


Ramen with a Smile

by The_Mysterious_Crimson_Lotus



Category: Naruto
Genre: Action, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst?, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Fighting, Hinata works at Ichiraku, Ichiraku Ramen - Freeform, More to the plot than just relationship moments, Original Character(s), Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:01:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 57,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25420558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Mysterious_Crimson_Lotus/pseuds/The_Mysterious_Crimson_Lotus
Summary: Before being the Hero of the Leaf and the entire world, the only place Naruto was truly welcome was at Ramen Ichiraku. He was always accepted by Teuchi and his two daughters.Two daughters?Where Hinata's a civilian like in the original concept, and works at Ichiraku. Will the romance between the Teuchi's strange daughter and the future Hokage work out?Disclaimer: I own nothing. The characters and setting belong to Kishimoto.
Relationships: Hyuuga Hinata/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 224
Kudos: 193





	1. After a Long, Hard Day

**Author's Note:**

> So I had this idea that would not leave me. Over time, it rapidly grew as story points and details flew into my head, and I just had to write this.
> 
> Major modifications to canon. Set after the war. 
> 
> Enjoy~

Everyone has something they do to relax. Something that never fails to put them in a good mood, especially after a hard day of work. For Nara Shikamaru, it was having a smoke. For Ino, it was a massage. And for Naruto, it was ramen. 

Specifically, Ichiraku’s ramen. 

Specifically, _her_ ramen

“Honey, I’m home!” he called out cheerfully as he ducked into the ramen bar, his fatigue melting away at the sight of her behind the counter. 

“Welcome home, Naruto-kun,” Nata greeted him, a surprised but delighted smile on her face, setting out immediately to start preparing him a bowl. There was no one there but her, rush hour having ended a while back, the villagers going back to rebuilding. 

It was an ongoing joke between the two that, since Ichiraku was practically his home, and Teuchi and his daughters, his family, he would always come in and out pretending to be a husband who was at work all the time. The two of them were incredibly close, and that was only one of their many gags. 

“You wouldn’t believe the missions I’ve been getting lately! Espionage, and undercover work!” He used a dramatic, long-suffering voice, far deeper and growlier than his own as he plopped down theatrically on a stool.

“Yes, it’s almost like you’re a ninja or something!” she gasped in mock indignation. 

“It’s not my thing, though! You know how tiring it is sitting through the trade deals between two stuffy warlords while pretending to be a prostitute?” 

“Your cover story was being a prostitute?” 

“You’d be surprised how much information you can gather as a prostitute. Of course, I didn’t actually have to… ya know, do any of _that_ , but I had some close shaves, believe it.” 

He groaned at the memories, and propped his head on one arm as he watched Nata work. He always loved it when she was the one making ramen. There was a simple elegance to the way she moved around, the delicate care she gave each and every little task. The way she seemed to relax while cooking. Sometimes, during the hot summer during rush hour, and she was really concentrating, she’d bite her lip, and determinately set her jaw, brows furrowed, and her face would take on the look of a shinobi unwilling to give up, a look he was also very familiar with. 

“Still, I don’t think you’d make a very convincing prostitute.”

“Excuse me? I’d make an amazing prostitute, and I did. I was so convinced that those warlords and their advisors \were tripping over themselves trying to buy my services, I’ll let you know.”

“Yes, but if you actually did offer them your… umm… _services_ , I don’t think it would turn out very well,” she said with a slight smile and a little blush. 

“Whattya mean? I bet I could have shown those old barfs a right good old time.” He was clutching his chest in a mock insulted manner, but there was a part of him trying to keep from laughing. 

“Well, you’re very impatient and, you uhh,” her smile broadened, as did her blush, “tend to get a little… _overexcited_ , if you know what I mean.”

He stared at her in disbelief. “Damn it, I never should have introduced you to Ino and Kiba.” He moaned out to the roof in despair. “Oh, what have they done to our pure, good Nata?” 

She couldn’t help but laugh a little at that, and he grinned at her, a slight chuckle slipping out as well. 

“Are you calling me a deviant?” she asked, trying to act offended but still blushing and smiling. 

“I’d never say such a thing, especially not to a lady! Of course, it’s questionable if you’re a lady anymore, now that you’ve been exposed to us crude shinobi. Oh, what happened to the Nata who could barely make eye contact? Who almost passed out from having to talk to strangers?” He placed his forehead on his hand and looked down morosely. “I only blame myself.” 

“Don’t worry,” she said gently, barely fighting back her smile, “if it helps, I blame you too.” 

They grinned at each other, and Naruto, in anticipation, pulled out chopsticks, snapped them apart, and sighed happily. He had been gone for two weeks on that mundane mission, another one in a series of increasingly exhausting and frankly boring assignments that he’s been getting since the war ended. As the Hero of the Shinobi World, he suddenly became an important political figure. Moreover, Kakashi-sensei was sending him on more missions that required subtlety and analysis, including spying and undercover work, as Hokage training. As these kinds of missions often required a large amount of time to be done properly, he barely had time for ramen nowadays.

“So, speaking of deviants, any weirdos visit while I was gone?” 

“Just the usual crowd. We’ve been getting more of your fangirls recently, though, and Rokudaime-sama’s been visiting a lot.” 

He raised a surprised eyebrow. “Really? Kakashi-sensei?” 

She turned and smiled at him, his bowl ready in her hands, and his stomach did a flip. For which, her radiant smile or her delicious ramen, he couldn’t tell. “Yes. Everyday for lunch, actually.” 

“That damn old man. He’s the one who used to tell me off for eating ramen all day. Guess he finally realised the truth. That the power of ramen will save us all!” 

She giggled at this, a soft, pleasant sound, and he broke apart a pair of chopsticks, not realising that he had already done so before. 

“I’m actually making soba later, you can join us for dinner if you’re interested.” She looked down slightly at this, a very slight pink emerging in her cheeks, but her days of bashfully making herself force out invitations while steam came out of her head were long over. It wasn’t the first time Naruto would have dinner with her family.

“Sure, anything you make is amazing, Nata.” He grinned, and called out “Itadakimasu!” and began his assault on his bowl. 

In the interest of diversity and protecting Naruto’s health, Teuchi, Ayame and Nata would often prepare non-ramen dishes specifically for him. While he often complained at Teuchi and Ayame, desperately trying to maintain that there was nothing wrong with only eating ramen, he could never refuse Nata, whether it was back when she first started helping out and was a shy, quiet twelve year old, or now, as a still gentle and quiet but rather formidable young woman. 

It helped that Nata was, in all honesty, the best cook Naruto had ever seen. She even made fresh vegetables look amazing. 

They talked for a while as Naruto moved on to his second, then third bowl, laughing all the while. He could still remember the first time he heard her laugh; he had loved it from that moment on. He loved her smile too. It was so pure, so serene, and made him feel warm. The only thing lacking, was that he couldn’t see the full smile. He couldn’t see whether the beautiful glow of her smile made her whole face shine or not. 

He had never seen her eyes. 

“Naruto!” It was Rock Lee’s voice, and it interrupted Naruto halfway through a joke that had Nata barely concealing her laughter. He groaned, knowing full well that this interruption couldn’t be good. Nata must have sensed it too; she coughed into the crook of her elbow and straightened up, smile fading. 

“Yeah?” 

The Ramen Ichiraku banners were lifted as Lee ducked his head in. “You’re being called to the Hokage’s office. Us too.” 

Naruto frowned. “Is it urgent?”

“No, not really, you have some time to finish off your bowl. We were just told to bring you along when we can.” 

“If you’re not in a hurry,” Nata quickly said, smiling, “would you like something to drink? Naruto-kun’s paying.” 

She ignored Naruto’s cry of indignation, smiling courteously at Lee’s enthusiastic grin.

“Yes please, three glasses of water would be great, thank you. Guys, get in here!” 

The banners lifted once more as Lee’s teammates came in, Tenten and, to Naruto’s surprise, Neji, both because Neji had been critically injured during the war, and because he looked incredibly out of place. Naruto was positive that Neji had never been anywhere near Ichiraku before, not surprising considering that the two never really got along until the war, and even now, he couldn’t say that they were the closest of friends. 

They all sat down. Nata was facing the other direction, getting a new pitcher of water, and almost dropped it when she turned around and saw the former Team Guy. 

“W-welcome, h-here’s your w-water,” she mumbled quietly, pouring them three glasses of water and turning around nervously to fiddle with something at the back of the bar. 

Naruto stared at her in disbelief. Standing there behind the counter was a young woman fumbling with a pot, a slight tension to the way she held herself, not a trace of her usual grace in her movements. It was as though Nata had reverted back to her twelve year old self, to someone who had just started helping her father man the ramen bar to help build confidence. 

Lee and Tenten, who have both been at Ichiraku before and who both were on excellent terms with Nata, stared as well, then glanced at Naruto, who shrugged. Should he ask her what was wrong? No, knowing her, she’d probably refuse to say until everyone else left, and Naruto had to report to Kakashi-sensei along with Team Guy. He’d ask her some other time. 

“So,” he started, feeling a little awkward as he looked over at Neji, “you’re out of the hospital, I see.” 

“Yes, indeed,” Neji replied, looking slightly perplexed at his team’s sudden behaviour. “As I am officially medically unfit for duty, I will not be joining you on whatever mission Hokage-sama is assigning the three of you. I nevertheless wanted to accompany my team.” 

Gulping slightly, Naruto couldn’t help but feel slightly guilty. It was, in his eyes, his fault for Neji’s current condition. 

“I’ve also been curious about this place,” Neji continued, “you’ve invited me here before but I always refused. Back when I was more…”

“More arrogant and had a stick up your ass?” Tenten supplied. 

“...Yes, that works. Everyone else is always talking about how much you love this place, and how good the food is,” at Neji’s words, Naruto couldn’t help but proudly look over at Nata, who was still fumbling with some utensils, “and so I decided to come. Just to see.” 

Neji looked at Nata with a curious expression as she quickly and awkwardly excused herself to the backroom. “Are those goggles with reflective lenses? Why is she wearing them in here?” 

“Oh, uh, she has really sensitive eyes. Birth defect, I think. Regular sunglasses don’t work because the sides are exposed.” It wasn’t the first time Naruto had to explain his friend’s odd appearance. Despite how long he had known Teuchi’s youngest daughter, he had never seen her full head. She had always worn goggles that blocked out her eyes, and a towel that covered her scalp and hair (Naruto never voiced the theory he had that she was actually bald). She truthfully looked rather bizarre; even Ayame’s towel didn’t cover her entire head, and, since it was only meant to keep her hair out of the way while cooking, she took it off when not behind the counter. Nata never took hers off. 

By the time Nata came back, Naruto had already finished her bowl and was placing some money on the counter. “Thanks, it was delicious as always.” 

“Thank you for the water,” Tenten said graciously as Lee nodded vigorously. 

Naruto looked at Nata with an apologetic expression. “Sorry, we’ll talk later, okay?” 

She waved off his apology, smiling faintly. She still looked very tense. 

Frowning, Naruto decided that he would definitely have to talk to her when he came back. “I’m off.” 

He, Lee and Tenten left, Neji following behind them, shooting one, last, puzzled look at Nata, who stood there gripping the sides of her apron. 

And then, she was alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Thoughts and comments would be appreciated!


	2. An Important Mission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A week after noticing Nata's odd behavious, Naruto receives a special, important mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I’m sure that with Hinata being a civilian, a lot of you might be wondering how different the story is, whether things ending up the same is me saying that Hinata had no impact (spoiler alert, that’s not what I’m saying at all).. How did Naruto vs Neji go? How did Pain’s assault go? How did the whole Ten Tails thing go, since Neji’s still alive but unable to carry on as a ninja? All will be answered in due time, no worries, but I’m interested in what you guys think happened. 
> 
> Also, points for anyone who spots the Friends reference. 
> 
> Enjoy~

“This has got to be a joke.” 

“Naruto, listen.” 

“But come on, Kakashi-sensei! This is ridiculous!” 

When Naruto helped save the entire world, he didn’t quite expect just how important he’d become to the world. Or what a key player he’d become in the political games of the Great Nations. 

“The Fire daimyo has requested you specifically, Naruto, and you don’t refuse the Fire daimyo. This is a mission.” 

Kakashi’s voice was stern, his eyes scolding. Shikamaru, standing behind and to the left of him, was practically glaring at Naruto, and the village elders, Homura and Koharu, who were standing to the right, looked like they wanted nothing more than to send him back to the Academy. 

“You aren’t just Uzumaki Naruto anymore. You stopped being him when you stopped Pain,” Kakashi continued, patient as always but with a slightly threatening edge to the way he spoke. Even Kakashi’s laidback attitude and casual manner of speech couldn’t seem to survive the stresses of a Hokage. “You are a shinobi, the Hero of the Leaf. You belong to the Land of Fire.” 

“Yeah? Well it seems like I never was “Uzumaki Naruto” in the first place,” Naruto countered, slightly irritated. “I went straight from hated jinchuriki to celebrated hero. It’s sort of annoying, ya know.” 

“Regardless of how you feel about your identity,” Koharu began. 

“Or lack thereof,” Naruto shot back. That grammar and vocab toilet paper Nata had gifted him had done him wonders, especially since he was such a public figure now. 

“Or lack thereof,” Homura agreed, as if to appease him, “you are nevertheless a key political figure in the shinobi world. In the entire world, even. Your attendance is mandatory.” 

“But a banquet? I seriously don’t think I’d be the best representative of Konoha to be there. I’ll just embarrass the entire Land of Fire.” Naruto knew he sounded like an ungrateful, spoiled brat, but it was true. An important summit between the daimyos of the five main superpowers of the continent, the Lands of Fire, Water, Earth, Wind and Lightning, accompanied by their ministers (which included the countries’ respective Kage), the whole thing would culminate in a massive banquet, broadcasted throughout the Elemental Nations, with Naruto as the guest of honour. An idea he was dreading. Even the past couple of years attending special meetings and formal events and acting as an important figure would pale in comparison to this. He barely had enough table manners to sustain a respectful dinner between Kages (and ninja weren’t exactly the pinnacles of manners); he was sure that in actual, non-shinobi society, filled with nobility and excess etiquette, he’d cause a disaster. 

Technically speaking, this was the third Great Five Summit that had taken place since the war ended, but he had still been recovering in the hospital during the first, and had been missing in a months long mission during the second. This time, he’d be forced to go. 

“There is still time before the Summit for you to receive etiquette training,” Kakashi said, his patience started to crack slightly. Since this year it would take place in the Land of Fire, Konoha was responsible for the security of the five most important people in the continent, plus their respective entourages of officials, plus the Kage. In other words, Kakashi was responsible for security. In _other_ , other words, Kakashi was under significantly more pressure than ever before. “This isn’t your first public event. I want you to draw from your experience for this one.” 

“Look, Naruto,” Shikamaru cut in, “you do realise that once you’re Hokage, you’ll have to do stuff like this all the time, right?” 

Shikamaru technically wasn’t supposed to be there. He was Kakashi’s current Chief of Staff’s assistant, and not privy to important security details. However, Kakashi thought it a good idea to have a slightly friendly face for this specific briefing. Naruto agreed, but thought that, right now, Shikamaru’s wasn’t the friendliest of faces. 

“I know,” Naruto said, gritting his teeth. “I know I’ll have to do boring stuff like this when I’m Hokage, and I have to do it now for the sake of peace and stability and trade and all that other boring crap. I just think that I don’t have enough experience with this stuff to deal with such a big event, ya know.” 

“Well, it’s not up to you to decide if you have enough experience or not,” Homura snapped. “You’re going whether you like it or not. Daimyo’s orders.” 

Naruto looked from face to face in a desperate last ditch attempt to find an opening for him to get out. Unfortunately, he found none. 

“Could I at least ask that they serve ramen at the banquet?” 

“No,” came four, exasperated voices. 

“Come on! Nata is an excellent cook, I’m sure the daimyos would love some of her special ramen.” 

“Naruto, this is a formal, political banquet.” 

“With, you know, actual people.” 

Kakashi and Shikamaru’s words stung. What, ramen wasn’t good enough for formal, polite banquets? And Shikamaru… 

“Are you insulting Ichiraku?” he demanded of Shikamaru, an accusatory finger raised pointing straight at Kakashi’s assistant's assistant. 

“Enough of this. Uzumaki Naruto, you are going to the Summit. You are going to be the guest of honour, and you are going to be joining in the banquet. “ Koharu and Homaru practically spoke in unison. Naruto privately thought that they’d make a lot of money in the circus together. 

“All right, all right. I guess I’ll go,” he reluctantly relented. “I guess I’ll go training. Etiquette training, ya know.” 

It was frustrating, but it felt like all he did nowadays was get unreasonable or terrible missions. One more would be nothing, even if he did end up making a fool of himself in front of the entire continent. 

He gave an overdramatic salute, then, with a flourish, turned to walk out of the office. He was almost at the door when Kakashi’s voice stopped him. 

”Hold it. I haven’t told you everything yet.” 

Spinning around, Naruto tried to glare at the Hokage with as much fury as possible. Sadly, he couldn’t muster enough of the motion and ended up giving him a tired frown instead. 

“Eh?” 

“Well, the Fire daimyo requested, well, ordered you to bring along a plus one.” 

“Plus… one?” 

He was genuinely frowning now, confused. He thought that Kakashi was looking a little nervous. 

“A date.” 

_Ah, I see, I have to bring a date._

_Wait._

_A date?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The "Zero to Hero: Mister I'll Make a Man-ners out of you" Arc begins. I guess. 
> 
> I hope this chapter was okay. I'd really like to hear your thoughts!
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	3. Countdown Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that Naruto has to find a date, a bunch of questions come up for him: questions about his public image, his relevance to the world, and, most importantly, who should he bring?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy~

Naruto walked out of the Hokage’s office in a bit of a daze. He had struggled to pay any attention to Kakashi’s speech about the importance of publicity for an international hero or about how he would assign a fellow shinobi the task of coming along as his date if he couldn’t choose soon. He just knew that he was in trouble.

Seventeen days. Seventeen days before the three day Summit began. His deadline for finding a date that the council would approve of was in fifteen days. Two weeks. Two weeks to find someone who he could tolerate enough to spend three days plus a banquet with, who would be willing to go through that and who would be polite and respectful during the whole process. 

He stumbled through the streets of the village, lost in thought. Grateful that Shizune had reminded him to put on his usual henge, he managed to walk straight past the hordes of fans that would usually have buried him under their screams of delights, autograph requests and general excitement. Any one of them would fit the ‘willing to go with him’ criteria; without a doubt, he knew that he just had to ask and the villages would be overflowing with fanatic people from all over the world begging to be his date. And he was sure that, with such a massive sample size, there would be at least a few who would fit the ‘polite and well-mannered’ criteria. At least, for the banquet.

He didn’t even realise where his feet were taking him until he was ducking into Ramen Ichiraku. 

It was still early in the morning, so aside from a couple of genin with what disturbingly looked like whisker marks drawn on their cheeks with a marker, the place was empty, manned only by Ayame. At his arrival, the genin frantically turned and looked at him, only to drop their gaze in disappointment and return to their ramen. Ayame called out a greeting, asking what he’d like as he sat down heavily on a stool. For the first time since the war ended, he shook his head, asking for some water instead. Ayame obliged. It was still early, after all. 

Naruto watched the two genin taking animatedly as they finished off their bowls. Still preoccupied with the daimyo’s absurd request and the increasing pressure for Naruto to maintain a strong image, he only managed to catch a few stray words. What sounded like “First Hokage” and “Madara” and “Bijuu” and “Uzumaki Naruto” and “power” seemed to be recurring ideas. Didn’t Kiba mention something about kids comparing famous ninja like they would manga characters? 

It seemed as if his own popularity only grew after the war. With every public appearance, with every account of past deeds resurfacing, with growing and transforming rumours, Naruto was very much afraid that he had become a cult figure. Each tale of how he fought Shukaku as a genin, each retelling of the fight against Haku and Zabuza seemed to blow his contributions out of proportion. It made him uncomfortable. 

_I guess this is what they meant about me maintaining a strong public image. I’m probably the most influential person in the continent right now, and the face of Konoha and the Land of Fire._

Still watching the excited genin as they finally got up, paid for their ramen, and left — all while complaining that they didn’t end up running into _him_ — he realised the importance of who he ends up choosing. The person he ends up bringing as a date will end up reflecting on him and the entirety of the village. 

“Hey, Ayame-neechan, is Nata here by any chance?” 

She startled, turning to stare at him in utter confusion, and Naruto remembered that he forgot to drop his henge. It probably would have been incredibly bewildering for a forty-something year old strange woman to call you “neechan” and ask for the whereabouts of your younger sister. Using a nickname only a few used.

“Oh, I thought it was you,” Ayame said, smiling as, with a puff of smoke, Naruto appeared, dressed in his regular jounin uniform. “Sorry, she’s out right now. Shopping at the market.” 

“Don’t you get your produce delivered?” 

“Not for the shop, for us. You do remember the fact that we don’t eat ramen all day ourselves, right?” 

“Well, why not? You’ve got easy access, it’s delicious, it would be the logical thing to do, ya know,” he argued.

“Logical if you have an ancient fox made of pure chakra keeping you healthy and alive,” she mumbled as she automatically made a bowl and turned to place it in front of Naruto, only to realise that he didn’t have a bowl there already — he had just ordered a glass of water. She frowned at him in concern. “What’s wrong?” 

“What? Oh, this? I uh, I was kind of hoping to talk a bit to Nata.” 

_Wait, what? Was that what I was doing?_

“Oh, well, you might as well finish this bowl since it’s ready.” She handed him the ramen, which he accepted gratefully, but for once, he wasn’t concentrating on the meal. 

Because of course, when he heard that he had to bring a date, his first thought was her. Nata. The person who made him feel lighter than air and warmer than fresh baked bread. She was incredibly polite, and very well mannered for someone who grew up making ramen. She was also Naruto’s best friend. Between serving him oceans of ramen and joking around with him, she was his number one confidante, someone who would always cheer him up without fail, and who always had his back, despite being a civilian. With her, he’d be on his best behaviour throughout the Summit, and might actually enjoy it. 

It was the second criteria that was the problem. 

He remembered when Nata first showed up at Ichiraku. Almost eight years ago, before he received his hitai-ate, Iruka-sensei had taken him there as a reward for actually completing some homework for the Academy (for once). She was there, behind the counter, in her weird head towel and tinted goggles, peering over at them from behind her father. Teuchi had laughed, gentle coaxing her forward, and introduced them. 

_”This is my youngest daughter, Nattou.”_

_“Eh? You named your daughter Nattou?” Naruto exclaimed in disgust._

_“Hey, Naruto, that’s rude! You can’t say that!” Iruka was livid, but Naruto ignored him, focusing on the tiny girl clutching Teuchi’s arm. Really, she was the same age and height as Naruto, but the way she held herself and her blush and the way her lip trembled made her seem significantly younger. She might have looked terrified, but since half her head was covered, it was hard to tell._

_“She’s wearing goggles like me, ya know!” Naruto yelled, only to get bonked on the head._

_“Actually, why is she wearing those goggles?” Iruka asked politely, keeping a strong hand on top of Naruto’s head._

_“Eye condition,” Teuchi replied, shaking his head sadly. “Since birth. She’s got really sensitive eyes. Light hurts them, so we have to take precautions.”_

_“How come we’ve never seen Nattou before?”_

_“She’s really shy, and scared of people. I guess it’s probably because of her condition.” Teuchi smiled down at his daughter. ”But she’s said that she wants to try getting out there, so I’m having her help me out here. Little by little. A couple hours a day, just to get to meet a few of our regulars.”_

_Iruka smiled kindly at Nattou, who gave tried to give one of her own, but the feeble attempt made no visible difference._

_“So, you, can you—”_

_“Naruto,” Iruka scolded him, “she has a name. Nattou.”_

_“The hell I’m calling her that. No wonder she’s scared of people. She’s named after fermented beans, ya know!”_

_Teuchi coughed, and Nattou bowed her head a bit. “It was her mother’s choice.”_

_“Well, I don’t think I’ll use it. How about…. Nata! That’s close enough, ya know!”_

_He missed the panic that shined briefly in Teuchi’s eyes, the way he grasped Nattou’s shoulder tightly and put on an awkward smile._

_“Well, her mother named her Nattou, so—”_

_“Nata! Do you know how to make ramen?” Naruto completely ignored Teuchi’s disgruntled expression, focusing solely on Nattou, who raised her head a little, just so that they would be making eye contact (if she hadn’t been wearing her goggles), and gave a little nod._

_“Alright! I’m sure that we’ll be great friends, Nata!”_

The nickname ‘Nata’ caught on. He used it, of course, Ayame began using it, and all of Naruto’s comrades used it. Only Iruka, out of respect for Teuchi, who initially didn’t seem too comfortable with the nickname, called her Nattou. 

And, since that day, the two of them developed a very strong friendship. He would often encourage her to stand up for herself against pushier customers, kept her company during quiet hours, and, eventually, after he became a full-fledged ninja, introduced her to his friends and comrades. She, in turn, always believed in him, encouraged him when no one else did, celebrated his successes, comforted him after failures, and always had a bowl of ramen and a smile ready for him. Over the years, he had watched as her responsibilities grew, and, along with them, her confidence. She was now, in his eyes and the eyes of many of his ninja friends, as brave as a shinobi. It takes a lot of guts to deal with the drunk, aggressive ninja who often harass the Konoha shops on evenings, after all.

But even so, would she be comfortable with coming with him, to participate in the most important political event of the year as the date of the Saviour of the World? No matter how much more confident she got, she never liked crowds, and, outside of work, felt uncomfortable with strangers. The good thing about Ichiraku was that most of its customers were regulars. There would be nothing ‘regular’ about sitting at the same table as the five most important daimyo. He was the damn guest of honour.

“So, what were you gonna ask my sister?” Ayame asked, casually wiping a bowl clean in the background. 

“What? Oh, just wanted to talk about this mission I got.” 

“Hmm, gonna brag again?” 

He put down his bowl wearily, having emptied it completely. “Come on now. Not everything I do with your sister is the result of some… masculine need to impress her. We’re friends.” 

“Friends… yeah, friends in love,” she muttered. 

“Hey, I just have a crush on her, okay, no need to go that far.” 

“Oh, so you’re finally admitting it?” She grabbed his bowl and smiled. “Great, now we’re one step closer to being in-laws!”

Naruto groaned. “I know you’re excited by the idea of having me in the family or whatever, but you’re taking this too far, ya know. “

Still smiling, Ayame began humming something that sounded a lot like wedding music. 

“Hey, isn’t she your little sister? Aren’t you supposed to be more protective of her or something?” 

Ayame looked visibly affronted. “Well of course I am! I just happen to trust you with her! I mean, you hang out with her so much that you’re pretty much dating! Plus, my sister’s pretty strong, she can fend for herself. Now you just need to get over your irrational fear of our dad and—”

“Irrational? There are protective dads, there are overprotective dads, then there’s _your_ dad.” Naruto buried his head in his arms. “He’s less so with you, but with Nata? With her condition and shyness? Besides, he’s been like a dad to me too, I don’t want to mess with him by asking out his daughter, ya know.” 

He ignored what he was sure was pitying look from Ayame. He had originally wanted to hint at his problems and have a nice conversation with Nata to cool down and relax. Did he have the intention of maybe asking her to come as his plus one? Maybe. But the conversation with Ayame reminded him of the quandary he had already been struggling with since the war ended. 

There was more to it than just Teuchi, but he definitely was a big part of it. He would definitely never approve of Naruto taking Nata, with a history of social anxiety, to such a big event. That was just Naruto being selfish. 

But who would he take instead? 

There was no one he rather would.

Because he was lying when he said that what he had for Nata was “just a crush”. It was neither “just” or “a crush”. He didn’t know how he knew. 

He just did. 

He thanked Ayame, paid, transformed, then walked out. 

He needed to see someone. 

And at the moment, it was not Nata.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who's he going to see? Would Teuchi agree to Nata being asked out? Would Nata agree? Why is Naruto having a date so damn important? Why 'Nattou'? What's Nata shopping for? Is this story going too fast? 
> 
> All will be answered soon enough (except for the last two maybe). 
> 
> Thank you! As always, thoughts and comments would be lovely.


	4. What to do?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto goes to see someone for help

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohoo, another chapter, another conversation about his relationship with Nata!
> 
> Friendly reminder that, while the story more or less went in the same way, certain events have undergone serious modifications.
> 
> Enjoy~

“So, just to summarise, you _have_ to bring a date to the Summit.”

“Yes, that is right.”

“And the only person you really want to take is Nata.”

He nodded his head vigorously in reply.

“But you’re scared that she’ll be uncomfortable, and that Teuchi-san would not approve.”

“Exactly! Come on, I need help! You’re the only one who can give me proper advice on this, ya know!” 

Sakura rubbed her head in frustration, glaring at him from across the table. Naruto had caught her just in time for her lunch break at the hospital, and explained everything to her. 

“Why can’t you just ask Iruka-sensei? I’m sure he can help you better than I can.” 

Naruto crossed his arms. “Doubt it. I mean, he was the first person I thought of for help, but I’ve gone to him for help with Nata before, and he was completely useless, ya know. The man’s got no experience dealing with women. He’d probably just sprout out some nonsense from Pervy Sage’s books or something, which I don’t need at the moment.” 

“Well, is there really no one you’d rather go with?” 

“None at all! What do I do, Sakura-chan? Should I go ahead and ask Nata out anyways? Do I go to Teuchi-occhan first? Should I find some willing fans and ask one of them? I’ve got plenty, ya know.” 

“Eugh, don’t remind me,” Sakura pretended to retch, then shuddered. “You won’t believe what some of them do to get my attention.” 

Confused, he stared at her. “You’re attention? Why would _my_ fans go after _you_?”

She shrugged. “Because I’m your old teammate and know a bunch of stuff about you? Because everyone’s still speculating if we’re dating or not? Could be both.” 

“Tabloids,” he growled. “I can’t get a moment of peace. Any girl I exchange greetings with is instantly a candidate to be my ‘potential secret girlfriend’, which people seem convinced that I have.” 

“Yeah, that’s true,” Sakura said, smiling. “The only person who inadvertently escaped the horrible fate of being suspected of dating you is the one person you actually would want to date, and that’s mostly because no one expects you to be interested in a girl who hides half her head.”

“Hey! She has a condition!” 

“In the eyes. What about her hair?” 

“Maybe she’s…bald?” he provided with some uncertainty.

Staring at him for a few moments, she finally shook her head. It wasn’t the first time he brought this idea up in front of her, and each time she shot it down with more vehemence than the last. Today, however, she seemed to be too exasperated by Naruto’s desperation to beat him down for being disrespectful. 

“Look, at the end of the day, you like Nata.”

“Yes.” 

“You want to take her to this Summit thing.” 

“Yes.” 

“Then the only thing you should think about doing is asking her directly. Forget about appearances and fathers and whether she may or may not be uncomfortable. Ask her what _she_ wants. She’s old and mature enough to make her own decisions.”

Sakura was right, of course. Naruto knew that. Nata was, after all, far more confident than she used to be. Plus they’d be hanging out the entire time if she was his date, so it’s not like she’d be left alone to mingle amongst the crowd, right? 

Still, something kept kicking at the back of his mind. 

“What if…” It sounded ridiculous in his head. He felt like a pathetic brat.“What if she says no?” 

Sakura gaped at him. 

“Are you fu— are you kidding me? You’re that stupid?”

“Hey! It’s a valid concern!” he protested, indignation and hurt pride rising within him. “Nata’s never really shown me any romantic interest before, ya know! There have never been any hints before!” 

“You wouldn’t be able to identify a hint even if a girl got naked, painted ‘I love Uzumaki Naruto’ on herself and ran around holding a sign with ‘Please go out with me’ written on it!”

“What? Even I’m not that stupid!” 

“It literally happened last week!” 

That stumped him. He had so many fans making googly eyes at him all the time, he couldn’t keep track of all of them. Looking at Sakura with a confused frown, he saw her roll her eyes and sigh heavily. 

“Last week? That Kumo girl! Blonde?” She stared at him in amazement as he crossed his arms and put on his thinking face. “She had orange paint all over herself and had to be taken away by her teammate while screaming that she’d make the perfect wife?” 

His face lit up in recognition as he almost jumped up in excitement. “Oh yeah, that girl! Wait, she was into me? I thought that was just a joke.” 

After a few more moments of Sakura looking at Naruto as if he fell out of the sky, she cleared her throat and pressed forward. “Anyways, back to Nata. You seriously think she’ll say no?” 

“Well, maybe. I know I’m important to her, I’m probably responsible for paying for half of her family’s stuff at this point. But does she _like_ me? Ya know what I’m saying?” 

Sakura was not amused. “Look, Naruto, you won’t know if you won’t ask. You’re usually never this hesitant. You never held back back when you used to ask me out, remember?” 

“Yeah, but I used to do it as a joke! With this it’s…” He trailed off. Sakura was right, if there was one thing Naruto was known for, it was his lack of hesitation and his willingness to charge into anything undaunted. “With you, I knew that you’d definitely just reject me immediately, and we’d all just go back to what we were doing. With this, there might be an actual chance of her accepting me, which just makes this…”

“Hard?” 

“Yeah. I’m a little…. I know that we’re close, and everyone from Iruka to her own sister always say that we have a connection and chemistry and all that, I think Ino said something about shipping? Which I don’t understand, by the way, who do I need to send what to? Do I need to order some weird gift from Kirigakure via messenger hawk then have it shipped over? I don’t under— ” 

“You’re rambling again.” 

“Right, sorry! Happens when I’m nervous, ya know. It’s just that… There is a possibility that she might say yes. And that makes the small possibility of a rejection that much more… scary. I don’t know, I don’t understand it myself.” 

Smiling sympathetically, she turned and looked out the window. Naruto had noticed that she did that more often lately. Sighed more. She’s been more melancholy and distant lately. Working herself to death at the hospital. If Chouji was to be believed, she’s been actively avoiding everyone as well. Especially Ino. 

“I… I get that part. When you know there’s something, and you’re scared of losing it. I understand the pain when things go wrong suddenly, and why you’d fear that.” 

“Sasuke?” he asked. 

She was quiet, not meeting his gaze, but the light from the window illuminated her face. 

She looked… sad. 

“Yeah.” 

Sasuke had spent almost half a year after the war ended in prison. Aside from Kakashi, a small hand-selected team from Torture & Interrogation, and the village elders, only Sakura had been allowed to visit him on a regular basis. She was allowed to bring him food, stay close during interrogations on his years with Orochimaru, and continue healing him and monitoring his health. It was during this period that they truly grew closer, and people could say with confidence that the two had a future together. 

It really looked like Sasuke had fallen in love with her. Really, truly, in love with her.

That future shattered when Sasuke was released. He decided to leave on a trip around the world, to learn more about various peoples and nations, to atone for his sins. After having her request to join him rejected, Sakura had told Sasuke that she would wait for him, only for Sasuke to tell her not to bother. 

_”I am the last Uchiha, and that’s how it should be. My clan, the Uchiha legacy, the Curse of Hatred, the Sharingan… it will all die with me.”_

Sakura had always wanted to get married. Have kids. Start a family of her own. Their visions were incompatible, their dreams moving in different directions. 

He had thanked her, told her to move on, and left. 

Naruto couldn’t help but feel bad complaining about his relatively childish relationship issues with her; his problems felt like nothing compared to her pain. 

“Look, Naruto, I understand you’re worried about being rejected,” Sakura said, talking more gently now, her tone measured. “But you won’t know unless you try. You have to go ahead. Better get a straight answer than sit around hoping for something to happen.” 

Smiling at her, he nodded. She was usually right, after all. 

“Besides, I doubt she’ll say no. I’ve noticed that she’s always been better with crowds when you’re by her side, and I’m sure she’s noticed it too.” 

He blushed at the comment, and thought back to the times when they just went hanging out outside of just Ichiraku. There was that festival once, some time before Pervy Sage passed away, when, due to Ayame’s generous offer to cover for her, Nata agreed to go with him. Aside from being a spectacular night, it was also a night where the two of them laughed and joked around while completely surrounded by strangers. 

_Things might be different during the summit, but it’s a start._

“Plus, I really think she does lo— like you, too. Remember Pain’s attack?” 

The warmth he felt remembering the various shenanigans he and Nata got into in and out of Ichiraku vanished. The light seemed to fade in the room, and the temperature went way down. A dark, bitter expression overtook his face. 

“Of course I do,” he growled. 

He tried not to think of it, but inadvertently always did. It was a bitter memory that came to haunt him at night. His worst nightmare.

The image of Nata, filthy and bloody, trying to run down the crater, crying and screaming at Pain, struggling against Sakura’s restraining arms, while he yelled at her to run away. 

The image of Nata, gasping sharply as Pain’s _Banshou Tenin_ , his Universal Pull, ripped her out of Sakura’s grasp. 

_”You who has no answers, who doesn’t understand war. Let me demonstrate exactly what pain is.”_

“Well, she wouldn’t have run in there yelling at Pain to let you go if she didn’t care,” Sakura explained awkwardly, uncomfortable with the sudden, sombre change in atmosphere. 

“Yeah, because caring about me automatically translates to wanting to go as my date,” he scoffed. 

“She’s a civilian. She wouldn’t have done it if what she felt for you wasn’t incredibly strong,” Sakura insisted.

Nata had explained later on that Pain’s jutsu — the one that had leveled the village — had killed her father and sister, and that she was just acting out of hysteria. 

That didn’t change the fact that Naruto could still see her dying body in his sleep, the look of shock and agony on her face and the scarlet bloody running from the black rod in her chest as vivid as ever. 

“...I guess,” he mumbled. 

Seeing just how the memory affected him, Sakura tried desperately to switch direction, slight panic shining in her eyes.

“Yeah, but that’s not all!” she said, a little too quickly. “It’s the little things she does as well! The looks, the way she gives you extra Narutomaki when serving you ramen, the way her smile changes when you’re there… Even if she doesn’t know it, I’m sure that she likes you too! And when you ask her, and she says yes — because she will say yes — you can use this Summit as your first date! And then you can finally build that relationship you’ve always wanted with her!” 

“Right,” he said, trying to shake the horrible memories from his head. He couldn’t; now that Sakura brought it up, in this context, it felt like he was suffocating, as though the memory was choking him. He had to escape.

Slowly nodding his head, the gears started turning in his mind as he looked for an escape route.. “Right, she’ll probably say yes, especially if it’s just as friends.” 

“No, wait that’s not—”

“Yeah! She won’t reject me if I ask her as a friend! And I’ll just tell Teuchi-occhan that this is simply another… confidence boosting exercise!” 

“Where on earth did you come up with this? Naruto you—!”

“Thanks, Sakura-chan! You really helped, ya know!” 

“I didn’t say anything about asking her as a friend!” she yelled, but it was too late. He was already gone, and, as the doors of the break-room kept wildly swinging, her fellow doctors and nurses peeked in at her, perplexed as to why she was yelling after the Hero of the Leaf. 

“Dammit, where did he come up with that idea? Was he just trying to get away because the atmosphere turned too heavy?” 

Still grumbling about inconsiderate cowards, she got up, threw away the plastic of the muffin she had finished ten minutes ago, and went back to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed this one. Sakura's definitely going to be a big character in this story, as is Neji (who'll be making another appearance soon enough) so pay close attention to what is said about them.


	5. Asking, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto finally makes his move.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy~

Over time, the roof of Naruto’s apartment building had grown to become _their_ place. Even after the building was destroyed by Pain, the newly built apartment building that Naruto had moved into after the war simply took over where the previous building had left off. 

It had started many years ago. Several weeks before Naruto became a genin, Teuchi had gotten terribly ill, and Ichiraku was closed down for some time while the girls took care of their father. Unfortunately, money had been a little tight that year, and Nata had felt bad about the money they were losing during the closure, money they could have been making to pay towards potential bills for healthcare and medicine. Decided to be bold for once, she took the initiative by trying to run the place by herself for a day. The attempt failed miserably, with Nata suffering from a panic attack and running away. Naruto had found her, but instead of taking her straight home where she was fearing a scolding, he took her up to the roof of his apartment building where they played a card game he had learned from Kiba. 

She had managed to calm down, and from that moment on the roof became special to both of them. 

It became a safe haven for both of them, which was why once in a while, when Naruto wasn’t on a mission, they would meet up there in the early morning. Mostly they ended up playing card games and talking on the roof; occasionally they would take a stroll instead. Recently, they had been going off to the woods for Naruto to teach her basic self-defense techniques (Naruto noticed that she would usually fix the towel on her head more securely when they did this), nothing too high skilled, but good enough to fend off against most run-of-the-mill bandits. Though rather flexible and quick on her feet (Naruto found it surprising that someone who made ramen all day would be as flexible as her), she wasn’t particularly good at fighting, even the basic stuff. Still, whenever they did practice, she always put in an incredible amount of care and effort. 

It was one of the things that drew him to her. Her devotion to new skills, the way she would try so hard at everything, from learning new recipes to fighting to gaining confidence, made him admire her quite a bit.

That, and her kindness, gentle touch, intelligence and humour. Not to mention her ramen making abilities.

Which was why Naruto was sitting up on the roof, watching the sun rise, three days after Kakashi assigned him to find a date. Fourteen days left, and he still had no one. Despite going straight to Ichiraku to find Nata after his conversation with Sakura, at the sight of her serving a rather handsome man with a bright smile upon his arrival, he faltered, and all of his courage simply dissipated. 

It wasn’t that he was jealous, of course. There were very few men who were actually actually interested in Nata, due to the whole ‘goggles and towel’ thing. The few who were were regulars who became enamored with her kindness, but were then scared away by Teuchi. Still, seeing her act so nice and polite to that guy sapped him of his will, and he dashed away to get a mission from the Hokage’s office. 

During the next two days, he wasn’t exactly in the position to ask Nata out. He was either busy getting additional lessons of etiquette from the elders, or else helping the Hokage’s administration organise troops of shinobi to secure the area around the Summit’s location. 

“Damn, if Kakashi-sensei wanted me to get a date so badly, couldn’t he have given me the time to get one?” Naruto muttered while gazing at the first, warm beams of the sun beginning to bask the village in their glow. 

Sunrise always reminded him of Nata; at first, the world would be shrouded in cold and darkness, light distant and hidden from view. Then, the first rays of sunlight would shyly reach out from the horizons, pushing back twilight, before the full force of the sun would rise into view, slowly, timidly, but steadily and without backing down, bringing with it warmth and comfort, life and light, hope and clarity. 

He really enjoyed watching the sunrise. 

“Sorry I’m late,” a voice from behind him called out. Smiling, he turned around to take in the sight of his best friend, panting from the long set of stairs leading up into the roof with hands on her knees. Dressed in casual clothes, grey pants and lilac tunic, she was dressed for comfort as usual. He had sensed someone coming, of course, but it was her voice, warm and gentle, that would always make his heart glow. 

“Try extremely late. I mean, it’s almost morning! What the hell were you doing, sleeping like a normal person?” he quipped, smile turning into a grin. 

“Yes, sleeping. You should try it sometime.” Her inflection made it sound like a legitimate suggestion, but her lips were twitching. “So, what’s the plan? Will we be practicing my self defense skills again?” 

“Nah, you’d probably kick my butt this time around, and neither of us want that. Especially since today’s the first time we’ve both had a full day off at the same time! Come on,” he said while grabbing her arm and running back the way she came. “I have a plan for today. Let’s go, ya know!” 

“Wait!” she cried as he pulled her back to the stairs, looking back regretfully at the sunrise. “I just went up those stairs! Let me rest and look at the sunrise!” 

“No time!” Naruto announced before scooping her up in his arms and launching himself over the stairway and straight onto the next rooftop. 

“Wait! Naruto-kuuuun!” Nata shrieked as the two flew from rooftop to rooftop, her cries waking people in the apartments below. The drowsy people woken up so early slammed their windows open in an attempt to see what was causing such a racket, yet the only thing they could see was a blur that sped straight towards the Hokage Monument. 

It wasn’t the first time Naruto carried Nata like this, but the previous few times were usually later in the day, and were due to Nata being late to work after working out in the forest. Each time was… invigorating, a thrill that excited her to no end, something Naruto took notice of and took full advantage of. Today, so early in the morning and with absolutely no warning, she was less carefree, tucking in her limbs and shutting her eyes. She clung on to him tightly, burying her face in his chest in an attempt to keep the wind from stinging her face (and to stop from screeching like a mad person). He laughed, properly awake now as he navigated the rooftops towards the Hokage Monument, jumping up onto rocky ledges while carefully keeping her body safe. Finally, he landed on top of the Fourth Hokage’s stone head, and knelt down, grinning broadly at her. 

“Had fun?”

She was breathing heavily, a light blush dusting her cheeks. In between intakes of air, she tried frowning at him, but couldn’t keep it up and began giggling. 

“Please, try to give me some warning before you do that next time, Naruto-kun,” she chided, but ruined the effect by smiling breathlessly. 

“You said you wanted to look at the sunset, right?” 

“Hmm?” 

“Here’s an even better view, ya know.” 

She gasped as she turned her head to watch the streaks of light bathe the tops of the trees and buildings in warm shades of yellow and orange. From the Hokage Monument, the sight was breathtakingly gorgeous, as though some omnipotent being was painting on the sky, careful brushstrokes of colour masterfully bringing life and emotion to a blank canvas. Naruto knew that to her, the view would probably look more artistic through her shades; he once fooled around by wearing sunglasses for a week back when he was a genin in an attempt to copy her until Sakura smashed them off of his face. 

“Wow, it looks so much better from here,” Nata breathed out, smiling like a child as she looked out onto the sleepy village, watching the light begin to illuminate the streets. 

“It really does,” he agreed, gently tapping the stone below them with his foot, as though thanking his father’s giant stone head. 

Suddenly, she tensed, and her face turned bright red as her head slowly turned from the sunrise to look at his face. 

“Um, N-Naruto-kun?”

“Yeah?” 

“Y-you can let go of me now.” 

Realising that he had still been holding her princess style, he practically threw her on the ground in panic. She stumbled a bit, an undignified squawk leaving her mouth as she tried to regain balance. Naruto scrambled to grab her arm to help steady her, only to pull her to him too hard, causing her to crash straight into his chest, knocking him off of his feet and onto his rear. 

“Ow,” he complained, “this stone isn’t great from falling on, ya know.” 

Then he realised the situation they were in: he was sitting on the Fourth Hokage’s Great Stone Head, hidden from sight early in the morning, and Nata was lying on top of him, face completely red, lips trembling. 

“Gah! I’m sorry! I’m really sorry, ya know!” 

He picked Nata up, placing her as gently as he could on her feet, far from the edge of the head, and stepped away from her, making ample room. 

_Damn it, how am I supposed to ask her to come with me to the Summit after this?”_

“That’s… o-okay,” she mumbled, still red and breathing rather quickly. “Just… I thought that ninja were supposed to be more coordinated than that.” 

“We are!” he defended quickly. “It’s just… it’s really early in the morning, ya know! I’m not fully awake yet!” 

She eyed him critically — or rather, looked as though she was eyeing him critically — then turned back to watch the sunrise. Even if she didn’t buy it, she didn’t push the issue, something Naruto was grateful for.

“It’s beautiful from here. How come you never brought me here before?” 

_Because I never needed to butter you up so that it would be easier to ask you to go to a place as my date?_

“Uhh, because I’ve been really busy lately and we haven’t really gotten the chance to hang out, so I wanted to do something nice, ya know. To show that we’re still besties.” 

“Friendships are defined by the little things, not the big gestures,” she reminded him sternly, albeit with a superseded laugh. “Though the big gestures certainly are nice.” 

“Duly noted, ma’am.” 

They stayed up there for a while, watching the city wake up and exchanging updates (“That elder was insulting the way I use chopsticks! Your dad taught me how to use chopsticks! It was practically an attack against your family!”). Eventually, Naruto decided that they saw enough and, after another roof-hopping adventure complete with shrieking, they ended up in a new district of the village that neither of them had been in before. 

“Damn, before the village was destroyed, I used to know every nook and cranny of this place. Now, I barely have time to explore my new apartment, much less the village, what with Kakashi-sensei and his endless stream of missions” Naruto complained as they windowed shopped a bit. 

“I never really knew the layout of the village before,” Nata lamented as she looked longingly at some fancy, multi function pot in the window of a kitchen supplies store. “I’m usually at the restaurant anyways, and Dad doesn’t let me go off too far.” 

“Still? You’re like, 19 years old now.” 

“You know my Dad. Not that I really want to be going out a lot. I just… there are places that I’ve never really gone to in this village that I’ve always wanted to explore.” There was a wistful air in her tone that made his chest ache. “Usually, even when it’s the two of us, who just walk around in the same places.

“Well then, let’s go,” he said fiercely, grabbing her wrist and pulling her in a random direction. “Let’s take this time to see stuff.” 

It was her first full day off where he was also not on a mission since Pain, and Naruto was feeling incredibly adventurous. More than that, he wanted to do something to distract his stomach from dancing in anticipation. 

“NO! I mean, I think it would be cool, but I really don’t want to go.” 

“What?” He looked at her in confusion, letting go of her arm. She massaged it (though Naruto hadn’t really applied much force to his grab) and looked down bashfully. 

“I just, I don’t think I want to go around the village today. Strange places, strange people, you know. This place is enough for today.” 

He scratched his head at her forceful rejection of going around the village beyond just the small civilian area where Ichiraku was located. Then again, he realised, it was true that just this place alone was quite good for her still present anxiety problems (which really only manifested outside of work). 

_Hopefully she'll be okay with the Summit, I mean, I don't want to pressure her, but uhhh.... nevermind. Sakura-chan did say that Nata should get to decide herself._

They continued to gawk at the many items on display, occasionally pushing each other to make an unreasonable purchase. At some point, they came across a civilian-oriented sports shop, where they were offering to rent out —

“Bicycles?” she read the plaque with some confusion. She pursed her lips slightly, gently running her fingers along the metal frame of the strange device. “It looks really weird. How does it work?” 

The clerk sitting outside chuckled a bit. “Yeah, it’s been a hit in the Land of Earth cities for some time now. They’ve only just brought them over to the Land of Fire. We’ve only had this model for a day or two now, but it’s not been really popular. Seems that people who live in shinobi villages don’t like the look of a metal contraption with wheels.” 

“Looks a bit like that device from that picture of the Torture & Investigation unit that Ino-san showed me once,” she muttered, now pushing on the pedal with her hands. 

“I’ve actually seen one of these in a previous mission of mine,” Naruto said, smiling at the careful way Nata analysed the machine. “Never got to ride it, but from what I saw, you apparently just push on the pedals like you’re running. That pulls on a chain which makes the wheels turn and move, and you just… move.”

When it was time to say goodbye to the man and move on to another shop, Naruto saw Nata lingering by the edge of the pen in which they kept the rental bike like a horse.

“You know,” he started, “these _are_ available to be rented. If you want we can try it out.”

“But you said you had a plan for today,” she protested, hesitating as she kept turning to look at the bicycle.

“Well yeah. The plan is… hanging out with you! Let’s try the bicycle, it looks really fun.” He grinned at her sceptical look. “Trust me, if you think it’ll be fun, I’ll also probably think it’s fun.”

Her answering smile was brighter than a hundred suns. 

_Alright, Operation: Put Nata in a Good Mood to Prepare Her to be Asked Out, going smoothly so far._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The bicycle was inspired by the 13th ending of Shippuden, bicycle (the one that played during the Pain arc, where Hinata spent the first half of the ending waiting for the rain to end, and the second half riding her bike while the singer kept saying "JITENSHA!"). Objectively, it's super annoying and does not suit the arc at all. Subjectively, it's adorable and amazing and I love it. 
> 
> Part 2 should be coming soon. Or not. But hopefully soon. But maybe not, I've got a lot going on. But I'll try. 
> 
> Thoughts and comments are always appreciated!


	6. Asking, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 of 3 of Naruto's thrilling Operation: 'The Best Way to Get Nata to Agree to Being His Date is by Going on a Date with Her'.
> 
> Or something along those lines.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I extended this to a three parter because I got inspired. I'm really excited to see what everyone thinks of this chapter. 
> 
> Enjoy~

As it turned out, Nata was not very good with the bicycle. 

After Naruto insisted on paying for it, they rented the one bike for an hour and went to test it out right there on the street. The few villagers who were up and working this early in that particular district watched in amusement as Naruto and Nata took turns trying to get on the metal contraption before subsequently falling to their sides with loud shrieks. Naruto was doing slightly better due to his training as a shinobi, but either he turned that off during days off or didn’t want to make Nata feel bad or simply was fooling around, because his falls were considerably more spectacular and painful. 

“Well, the good thing is that no one will expect you to be the Hero of Konoha like this,” Nata giggled, barely containing her mirth as Naruto crashed into his side once more. “Though we should probably avoid falling too much, we’re just renting it after all.” 

“It’ll be fine,” Naruto reassured her, offering to hold on to her as she climbed on, “I’m the Hero of Konoha! I can pay for the damages.” 

She pedalled for a little, with Naruto running closely at her side, holding on. 

“I think I’m getting the hang of this, you can let go now.” 

“You sure?” 

“No, but it won’t hurt to try, right?” 

She managed to go on unassisted for a while, laughing in glee as the breeze gently caressed her skin while Naruto cheered her on. Eventually though, she let out a yelp as she started losing balance, but before she had the chance to drop one leg to steady herself, Naruto was there, holding her as the bicycle tumbled to the pavement. 

“You okay?” he asked, smiling down at her. 

“Yeah,” she answered breathlessly, flushed, whether from the excitement of the bike or from being held, even she wasn’t sure. 

“I think that’s enough with the bike,” Naruto said as he looked down at their now dusty and dirt covered shoes and trousers. He also noticed a bunch of old women watching them and awwing from some shops. He gingerly let her down, lightly brushing his hands against hers as he withdrew his arms, feeling a small area of patchy skin.

He had felt or held the hands of countless different people on countless different occasions, from missions or from innumerable handshakes. Since the war, he made a point of taking note of how each of those hands felt or looked like. _”Hands tell a story,”_ the Third Hokage had always said. So he made sure to learn as much about a person through their hands: Gaara had surprisingly smooth hands, having never used taijutsu in his life; Bee’s hands were always disturbingly moist, no doubt a consequence of his status as jinchuriki of an octopus; Ino’s were well moisturised and soft, since her fighting style lacked direct engagement and she avoided gardening, prefer to sell flower at her family shop instead; Sakura’s were wrinkled from hours of medical work in gloves; and Sasuke’s were cold, rough, and unfriendly. Nata had the hands of a cook, flattened and tough from years of working in the kitchen. They were covered in tiny cuts and scars from working with knives since childhood, and there were always burns to be found. Her hands were small, cold and pale, but were brought to life by a map of her culinary experience, roads drawn by scars and sites drawn by callouses. They were not the dainty, soft and slender hands of the many noble women Naruto had met in his travels, but were elegant in the way they worked, skillful and experienced and careful. 

Naruto wanted nothing more than to grab on to them, take his time running his fingers across every line, every cut, and warm them up in his own hands. He wanted to take them, hold on and never let go. 

“Did you get another burn or something?” he asked worriedly as he took and lifted her left hand to examine closely, feeling a burst of electricity as he did so. Though he tried to be as nonchalant as possible, Nata ended up pulling it away and holding it close to her chest. 

“Yeah, a little. We were a little overwhelmed by customers the other day and I guess I was a little careless.” She smiled ruefully at him. “It’s not easy making ramen all day, everyday.” 

“No kidding. I bet it’s more dangerous than being a shinobi, ya know.” 

“Of course. Not many ninja have to battle the appetite of the mighty Uzumaki Naruto on a daily basis.”

They brought back the bike and set off on the narrow street. By now, most of the village was up and about, so Naruto had to take extra precautions not to be seen. He was wearing an uncharacteristic grey hoodie, the hood of which Naruto simply pulled up over his head while hunching down.

“It’s almost comical,” Nata mused as Naruto tightened the drawstrings on his hood, barely suppressing a smile. “No one recognises you just because you’re wearing a hood.” 

“First rule of shinobi stealth and undercover work,” he announced dramatically, leaning in close as if telling a secret, “the less you do, the better. Ya gotta act natural, ya know.”

“Yes, because hiding your head in a hood like that early in the morning and walking like that isn’t suspicious at all.” 

“Hey, you do it, Shino does it, and no one asks questions. Oh, Shino’s one of my old classmates, tall, wears glasses like you, all weird and—”

“I actually know who Shino-san is, thank you very much.”

“What?” Naruto was shocked. “As far as I’m aware, he’s only been at Ichiraku once. Plus he’s super forgettable. Or wait, are you two part of some ‘mysterious shades club’ or something?” 

She laughed, and Naruto, as always, felt a pleasant ripple through his body at the sound, as he had for the past few years now. 

_Damn, I really was an idiot for not realising it sooner. It took Kakashi-sensei, Granny, Sakura-chan and Temari beating me up to understand how I felt about her. Now let’s just hope she feels the same way._

“No, I’m not part of a club, but can you imagine? No, I just remembered him because he’s an important comrade of yours, and, well, if he’s important to you, well, he’s important to me.” 

She blushed a bit at this, as did Naruto. 

“That’s great. Though, to be honest, a lot of people usually don’t really remember him. He’s sort of a forgettable dude.” 

“Really? I would think the bugs would make him fairly memorable, and he is a rather cool guy.” 

“Hmm, then I guess it’s not that he’s forgettable, but that the bugs make him so creepy that people repress their memories of him.” 

“Naruto-kun!” 

“Anyways,” he continued, laughing, “it’s a shame I don’t really get to hang out with Team 8, they’re pretty cool.”

“I do rather like Akamaru,” she agreed, “and Kiba-san’s a lot like you. And Kyoka-san is also quite nice.”

“Yeah? Tell that to Neji.” 

“Why? Did Jiro-san do something to him?” 

“Nope, they just don’t like each other. I remember they fought each other in the Chunin Exams prelims years ago, the year Suna attacked Konoha, remember me telling you about the prelims? Anyways, Neji completely humiliated her, and I don’t think Kyoka’s ever forgiven him. Still, her sonic jutsu gave him quite a fight.” He scowled a little. “Man, Neji was such an ass back then. He’s changed a bit, of course, but he can still be a bit much, with his whole ‘ooh, the Hyuuga’s the strongest in Konoha and my daddy’s the head and his heir and I can do whatever the hell I want’ charade. Gets really annoying, ya know. Mr ‘My clan and I are too good for ramen.’ I bet they’ve never even been to Ichiraku.” 

He stopped to scowl at a T-shirt on display in front of a clothes shop’s window that had his face on it. Underneath the suspiciously too handsome version of his smiling face was the phrase, “Uzu-maki-ng Peace”. Nata shifted uncomfortably.

“Un..uncanny impression you’ve got there,” she laughed, a little too forcefully. “He’s probably the only Hyuuga I’ve ever seen visit our place, and he didn’t even get anything that one time. He only came in because Lee-san and Tenten-san were calling you on a mission.” 

“Which reminds,” he said, a realisation suddenly dawning on him as he abruptly turned to look at Nata, startling her, “that time they came in. You got all weird and uncomfortable. What was that about?”

“Oh, really?” Again, her laughter was a little nervous. A little too forceful. “I guess I was just a little intimidated. Main family Hyuuga and all that. Plus, umm, I was always, uh, a little scared by those Hyuuga eyes.”

“Yeah, I get what you mean. I get that the Byakugan’s really strong and valuable, on and off the battlefield but those eyes are just really creepy. They’re almost, I don’t know, lifeless and really cold, ya know.” 

Turning back around to glare at the offensive T-shirt, he missed the way Nata’s shoulders seemed to hunch and how she instinctively adjusted the goggles on her face. 

“Yeah… creepy,” she agreed, her voice slightly dejected. 

“I mean, they’re _really_ weird,” Naruto continued, and Nata winced slightly. “They make the Hyuuga look like these really freaky aliens, which, actually, they sort of are. I told you about Kaguya, right? She was an alien, she had the Byakugan, and she was hella scary. Pretty sure the Hyuuga are descended from her, too, ya know, and let me tell you,” he shifted tones fairly quickly, his voice growing angrier, “the Byakugan’s not the only thing they inherited from her.” 

“O-oh?”

“Yeah, she was real arrogant and emotionless too. And cruel.” Naruto added as an afterthought. “I mean, that whole curse mark business and the clan division, it’s really just sicken— HEY, NEJI! DIDN’T SEE YOU THERE, PAL!” 

Nata whirled around in shock as Naruto rushed to greet a tall, pale individual a little down the street. It was Neji, walking with some stiffness but nevertheless with a regal, confident air about him. She knew that Neji had been critically injured in the war, to the point where he had to be hospitalised for almost two years, and was incapable of continuing on as a shinobi. Still, with the way he moved and held himself, one could hardly believe it. Poised, straight backed and exuding power, he was the perfect image of the heir to Konoha’s strongest clan, his cold, light lavender eyes brimming with superiority, his clear forehead displayed with a pride that could only come from a member of the Hyuuga main family. 

Walking next to him was a shorter, female figure. With long, flowing brown hair like Neji’s (albeit slightly lighter), pale, cold Hyuuga eyes identical to his, and a simple elegance to the way she moved, she looked like a younger, female version of the clan heir. The only difference was the way she moved behind and to the left of Neji, head slightly bowed, with a hitai-ate on her forehead. From what Nata had heard about the Hyuuga clan, since the main family Hyuuga never covered up their clear foreheads unless in battle, she was obviously a member of the branch family. 

“Naruto,” Neji greeted, a look of slight annoyance passing briefly over his face, no doubt over Naruto’s volume, “what a pleasant surprise.” 

“What are you doing here so early in the morning?” Naruto questioned, looking from Neji to his younger, female companion. 

“As part of my recovery, I am required to take walks in order to stimulate my body after staying in the hospital for so long,” Neji said, speaking calmly. “I have decided to take advantage of this by exploring the village a little more. It is something that I failed to do when I was younger, something which I regret.” 

“You know, you may have mellowed down, but you still talk like you’re an old geezer,” Naruto exclaimed, going for a rough pat on the back before backing down from the branch family member’s glare. 

“Ah, good morning, Nata-san, was it?” Neji said politely, turning his attention to the girl in question. 

“Uh, g-good morning, umm, Hyuuga-sama. I’m, uh, my name is actually Nattou,” Nata replied, bowing incredibly low. She was visibly incredibly tense.

Neji raised an eyebrow at her.

“Nattou?” 

“M-My mother wanted to name me s-something weird… for good luck. Karma, or something along those lines.” 

“Well, then, good to see you again, Nattou-san.” 

“Just call her Nata, everyone does,” Naruto called out, suddenly slinging his arm around Neji while beaming at her. Neji’s aid started to move, only to be waved off. 

“Just Nattou’s fine, Hyuuga-sama,” Nata said awkwardly, fighting to keep from twiddling her fingers together. 

“Oh no, simply Neji will do.”

She looked up at him in disbelief. 

“Well, you are a close friend of Naruto’s,” Neji explained, the barest trace of a smile hinting at his lips. “It would be unnecessary for you to treat me with so much formality. Simply think of me as another one of Naruto’s comrades.” 

“Who are you?” Naruto interrupted, peering at Neji’s aid in a scrutinising manner. “Why do you look so much like Neji? I mean, I know the Hyuuga all look really alike, but the resemblance between you two is uncanny, ya know!” 

“I am Hyuuga Hanabi, Neji-sama’s helper,” came the reply, cold, but slightly irate. 

“She is my cousin, my uncle Hiashi’s daughter. My father and uncle are twins, my father being older by a few minutes, which is why we look so similar.” 

“Is that what it is?” Naruto exclaimed. He turned back to look critically at Hanabi. “Helper, you say?” 

“As a member of the branch family, it is my duty and honour to serve the clan heir.” 

“So you’re still clan heir? Even with….” Naruto awkwardly gestured at Neji’s abdomen, a little shame crawling within him. 

“My father decided that it’s time for a change,” Neji said, now with an actual smile on his face (though it was still fairly faint). “I’m still capable of leading the clan, even if I cannot fight. It would be a symbolic gesture to show the clan’s commitment towards helping the village establish a more peaceful world. The Hyuuga clan wishes to embody a new, more positive idea of strength and unity . In fact, in some ways, you were the one to inspire us.” 

“Neji-sama,” Hanabi cut in as Naruto began chuckling in embarrassment, “We should start moving again. We wouldn’t want to be late to your appointment with your team.” 

“Of course, thank you, Hanabi.” He nodded politely to both Naruto and Nata as he began to move once more. “It was good to see you, Naruto. And you too, Nattou-san,” he added, addressing Nata as he moved past her. 

He frowned slightly as she reacted by vigorously bowing and moving to stand closer to Naruto. 

They watched them move away for a while, Nata keeping her head lowered while Naruto frowned at their retreating backs. He looked over at Nata and shook his head. 

“Man, no matter what he says, the Hyuuga clan’s still pretty messed up.”

“S-sorry?” 

“I totally get why you’re so nervous with them. Sure, Neji’s gotten better, and the Hyuuga were great help during the war, but their clan’s… rotten inside. That Hanabi’s his cousin, yet she’s going around like his personal assistant.” He scoffed as he shoved his hands in his pockets. “‘Helper’ my ass. More like his slave. I swear, once I become Hokage, I’m doing something about that clan.” 

“They’re… they’re v-very dismissive of the branch family, aren’t they? The main family, I mean,” Nata ventured, stammering a little. “I hear all sorts of rumours about them. It sounds really cruel.”

“Yeah, no kidding. From what Kakashi-sensei and everyone told me, the main and branch family’s always had a really tense relationship, but it got really bad in the last fifteen years. They’re still working on that, even now, after the war.” 

“O-oh?” Nata looked like she wanted to ask something, but hesitated. 

“Yeah, apparently there was this weird crisis or something, something about another village wanting the Byakugan, and the main family sacrificed this branch family girl. Because the Hyuuga curse mark seals the Byakugan away if anyone tries to tamper with it, ya know.” 

“I… I see.” 

“And then the branch family became even more hostile and angry with the main family, and they’ve only just begun to patch things up, it’s really messy. Kakashi-sensei’s been trying to get me involved in some of the meetings, you know, as Hokage training, but honestly, I can’t keep up with them.” 

“I… see.”

Naruto looked at her closely, and realised that she looked very shaken up. He cursed himself. 

_Dammit, why’d I have to bring up all that stuff about the horrors of the Hyuuga clan now? Now I’ve gone and upset her and ruined her mood!_

“But you know,” Naruto said loudly, prompting Nata to look up at his grinning face. “Neji is a pretty cool guy now. And the Hyuuga has been changing since the war. By the time I become Hokage, I’m sure the situation won’t be too bad.” 

“I… I suppose.” 

Leaning down a little, he grabbed her shoulder, and smiled warmly at her. _She’s always been incredibly compassionate towards everyone. She cares so much about other’s pain, it’s no surprise the Hyuuga clan has shaken her up this badly. Still, it’s proof of just how kind she is, so I guess I can’t be too worried about Operation: Ask Out Nata. That’d just be selfish._

Right now, he shouldn’t worry about asking her out. 

He needed to be a friend. 

“Hey, you know what might cheer you up”

He couldn’t see her eyes, but from the way she pouted slightly, and inclined her head, she was thinking. Hanging out with Nata all these years forced him to become an expert on body language. Specifically, Nata’s body language. 

“Cinnamon rolls.” 

Naruto was an expert on Nata’s body language. He didn’t need to look at her smile to know that just the prospect of cinnamon rolls caused her to brighten up. But that smile, the way her lips curved, her mouth opened slightly, her cheeks flushed, and the skin under her goggles bunched up — he could tell that she was excited. Simple, childlike excitement. 

It was a smile that could blind him in its radiance. 

_If only I could see her eyes._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, a couple things. First, I replaced Hinata on Team 8 with a girl named Kyoka. But not just any Kyoka. Jiro Kyoka from My Hero Academia (don't worry, this is not a crossover). I was considering names for a possible OC to fill the empty slot in Team 8, but then I thought, it might be easier to visualise if I based it on a character people are already familiar with. Then I thought of Jiro, and realised that she'd be perfect because she's a scouting/recon type hero, which fits well in Team 8 as they're sensory and tracking specialists. Plus, Jiro basically looks like a punk version of Hinata, which I found really funny. So there. She won't be a major character in this story (as far as I have planned), so I thought that it wouldn't hurt to share this information. 
> 
> Second, that whole "Uzumaking Peace" T-shirt. a) Sorry about that. b) in Trail of Notes, my other story, I mentioned that, since I'm using honorifics and the Japanese terms for jutsu, the characters in-story are speaking Japanese. So, would this T-shirt thing still work, since it's an English pun? Who knows. Just pretend that it's a Japanese pun that is similar in concept, and that it was "adapted" rather than "translated". I like to think of myself as less of a writer and more of a recorded of my imagination, if the distinction makes sense. 
> 
> Anyways, was this too much exposition in one chapter? I'd love to hear what you people think! Also, do questions like these ruin your enjoyment of the chapter? I like feedback just to see what I need to improve on, but I also don't want to take away from the story experience and make it more of an "peer review" thing.


	7. Asking, Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 3 of 3 of Naruto's attempt to ask Nata out for the Summit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Start Note: Something odd that I just noticed is that this story on this site is called “Ramen with a Smile”. But the google doc where I’m actually writing the story is named “A Bowl of Ramen and a Smile”. Which one sounds better? I sort of like both. They’re virtually identical, but I get different… vibes from each one. If that makes sense. 
> 
> Enjoy~

“Wow, you’re really putting that away, ya know.” 

Nata blushed slightly, but otherwise didn’t stop. Naruto grinned at her. She was with pastries what Naruto was with ramen. 

“I wish I had more time to bake at home,” she sighed as she bit into her massive cinnamon roll with relish. “Neechan can take over the restaurant, I just want to open a bakery.” 

Opening a bakery was a sentiment she had voiced to Naruto many times in the past. He couldn’t say that it wasn’t disappointing to him, as, in his eyes, out of her, Teuchi and Ayame, her ramen was the best — though that may just be his bias showing. Still, he played along. 

“Once you do, make you invent a ramen cake. I’m sure it would be amazing.” 

She pressed her lips together — not too tightly, as most of her facial expressions were usually rather gentle — and he knew that she was disgusted by the idea. 

“If you really want, I could make a cake that _looks_ like a bowl of ramen. "

He grinned at her. 

After their awkward run-in with Neji, he had taken her to her favourite bakery on the main street to get her a couple cinnamon rolls, as well as a few other select pastries.They were currently sitting on a bench outside of the bakery, watching villagers going about their lives on the cobbled, Konoha streets. The sun was shining brightly now, far above in the sky, and lit up the busy village. The early autumn breeze blew past them as they sat under the shade, tickling them, and Nata sighed contentedly as a few leaves — yellow, the first of the season — fluttered past them. Nata had cheered up significantly.

 _The way she sighs… it’s so cute. It always gives me this warm feeling inside._

It was a peaceful morning. A few children ran past, throwing a ball between them as they complained about being too young for the Academy.. A young couple, around the same age as Naruto, dressed in matching white and red clothes, smiling at each as though they were the only ones in the world, barely avoided getting hit by that ball as they walked into the bakery, causing Naruto to look at them longingly and glance towards Nata, who was finished with her treat and was wiping her mouth with a napkin. An old woman, sitting on a bench of her own opposite Naruto and Nata, was shaking her head at the boisterous children, waving her cain at them. Several burly men walked by, almost knocking into the children, discussing a new construction project being commissioned by the Hokage.

Naruto frowned. He didn’t need the reminder that Kakashi was making him do this. It didn’t matter if this was a request from the daimyo or not, he should be free to decide whether to bring a date or not, right? Glancing back at Nata, he couldn’t help but feel slightly guilty. He had been planning on acting on his crush for a while now. Had it been up to him, he would have asked her out to the festival coming up a week after the Great Five Summit. It would have given him time to prepare something ultra romantic, as well as allowed him to gauge whether she truly felt the same way as him. It was incredibly unlike him to be so hesitant and uncertain, when he usually recklessly jumped into any situation, since he believed that the simple, direct approach would eliminate any unnecessary, pointless obstacles. It was especially unlike him considering that he always felt most like himself when with Nata, like he could be free and open with her no matter what the situation. However, this was Nata, and she was special. He wanted to make it special for her. 

Besides, the last thing he wanted to do was jeopardize his bond with Teuchi’s family, his oldest and most precious one.

Which was why he felt so guilty about this. He didn’t want to go to the Summit — a televised event that would be covered by the media throughout the continent — with someone else, then turn around and ask Nata out the very next week. Yet he also couldn’t help but feel selfish for wanting to ask her to put herself out there like that. 

Not for the first time that morning, Naruto contemplated whether asking her to this was the right thing to do or not. Though much of his mind was occupied by the fear of rejection, there was a part of him that knew that, no matter what he asked of her, she’d agree — he was important to her, too (he just wasn’t sure in what way). She always supported him, since before he made genin when she was still a little girl, cowering behind her father as Teuchi served ramen. She had been there to motivate him before his fight with Neji during his first Chunin Exams — then comforted him after he lost. She comforted him after the Third passed away, after Sasuke left, after Jiraiya passed. She, a civilian, was willing to even run towards Pain for his sake. And it wasn’t just him she was kind to. That was who she was, someone selfless, compassionate, caring. A part of him knew that Nata would never refuse to help him. 

That part made him feel miserable. Was he really going to ask her to do something like this just for his own sake, because he didn’t want to feel bored during the Summit? 

“Is something wrong, Naruto-kun?” 

Her soft, gentle voice passed through him, caressing him like the breeze, pleasant and soothing. He looked over at her and saw her leaning closer to him, her brow creased. 

_Great, I’m already making her worried._

His continued silence made her tilt her head in greater concern, and she placed her hand on his, sending a jolt of lightning through his body before an incredible, soft glow filled him at her touch. A blanket of comfort fell over him, and just like that, his mind felt clear. 

It was a testament to the effect she had over him.

He really was a coward. Had his conversation with Sakura meant nothing?

_“But you won’t know unless you try. You have to go ahead. Better get a straight answer than sit around hoping for something to happen.”_

He had saved Sasuke. Saved the world. Saved the Kyuubi, and the rest of the Bijuu, from hatred and darkness. Why couldn’t he ask her out?

“Actually, yeah, there is something.” 

“Mhm?”

He was Uzumaki Naruto. Honest, true to his word, courageous. He always took the plunge without a second thought when it really mattered. 

“You know that there will be the Great Five Summit happening in the Land of Fire, right? About fourteen days from now? Or was it thirteen? Oh, anyways, You know that there’ll be the big Summit in two weeks, right?” 

She nodded. 

“Well,” he grinned, chuckling in a flustered way as he rubbed his neck in embarrassment, “I’ve actually been invited as the guest of honour.” 

Her face lit up, a smile breaking out on her lips, and the hand she had placed on his gripped a little tighter. 

“That’s wonderful, Naruto-kun! That’s an extra step towards becoming Hokage! I mean, you’ve been popular before now, but to be honoured by the Five Great Daimyo?” 

“Yeah,” he laughed, marvelling at how amazing her hand felt on his. “Well, the problem is, I’m sort of nervous, ya know? I’m not great with manners, or with being patient and everything. I feel like I’m going to bumble my way through the Summit and make a huge idiot out of myself, ya know.” 

She frowned, and her hand tightened even more. “Don’t say that. You’ve gotten a lot of experience these past couple of years. Plus, part of your appeal is how genuine you are. You don’t need to pretend by putting up a silly, gratuitously polite front, and that makes you amazing. You can reach everyone’s heart because you’re honest, and you don’t waste time with formality or social restriction. Even the Lords Daimyo should understand that that is part of your power.”

He couldn’t help it. He blushed deeply. 

_She’s right. I need to be honest with her, like I’ve always been._

“Still, I don’t want to be a total disgrace in front of the entire continent. I mean, it’s going to be publicised as hell, ya know.” He looked nervously at her face, slowly nodding. “And, here’s the thing. I’ve, uh, I’ve sort of been ordered to bring a… a date.” 

Her grip on him loosened immediately. Her smile vanished, and she suddenly looked down. 

“O...oh. I…. I see.” 

“And uh, I sort of have to bring someone who will keep me calm and collected and all that, someone polite and well mannered and, uh, elegant. They’ll be representing Konoha along with me, after all.” He spoke too quickly, panicking at the dejected look on her face. _Why does she look like that? Where did her smile go?_

“Th-that makes sense,” Nata said, a little quietly, and she let go of his hand. 

_No! Wait, don’t let go!_

“So, um, are you going to bring Sakura-san with you? She seems perfect for the role,” she mumbled, then gasped in surprise as Naruto suddenly grasped her by the hand she had just pulled away, and pulled so that she raised her head to look at him. 

“No! You! I want to bring you!” 

The effect was instantaneous. Her entire face flushed bright red. Her jaw dropped, and the hand in his became limp. 

He stared at her intensely, heart beating rapidly, faster than when he faced Madara, or Obito, or Kaguya. It was now. Now was the moment he found out. 

“Y-You… you want to take me?” she asked after what felt like an eternity. 

He nodded vigorously in response, not trusting his mouth to say the right words. 

“B-but… you said you n-needed someone elegant. W-well mannered.”

His eyes bore into her reflective lenses, forcing her to see through them to see the truth in his eyes. She gasped. 

“You’re the most elegant person I know.” 

Somehow, her blush became even brighter, so much that Naruto could swear that the heat radiating from it was warming his own face. Or was that his own blush? 

“N-Nata, will you, uh, umm…” Words failed him as he looked at her completely bewildered expression _This is it!_ “P-Please come with me. I need you, ya know.” 

He could feel her hand start to shake in his. She closed her open mouth, lips trembling slightly. She looked down for a moment, and, from the way she held herself, Naruto was sure that if he could see her face, they’d be filled with tears. 

He braced himself for rejection. _If I expect it, it won’t hurt, right?_ Meanwhile, that one, small part of him that was sure she’d accept was at the edge of his seat, ready to cheer and wave his flag of victory. 

Fear began to fill his chest. As well as hope. Even as he prepared himself for rejection, he tightened his hold on her hand, as if it were anchoring him to that hope.

“I mean, you don’t have to if you don’t wanna, ya know,” he blurted out, nerves getting the better of him as the anticipation grew too great. “It’s just, I really think that we’d have a great time if we went together. I mean, it’s three days, we can just hang out, and you’ll get practice dealing with crowds, and with you, I’ll stay civil, and it'll just be great!” 

“I can’t.” 

“I mean, there’ll be lots of food, probably. I bet even you, with your cooking abilities, would be impressed, though there's no one in the world who can cook better than you. Uh, and ! I’m sure there’ll be cinnamon rolls too, ya know! We’ll all—”

“Naruto-kun, I’m sorry.” 

“— party it up, but not too much since it’s a formal event, and I can introduce you to the other Kage! You’ve already met Gaara, and—”

“Naruto-kun.”

“— you’ll love the Mizukage, she’s really nice once you—”

It felt like time froze. 

He stopped his wild rambling. 

“W-what?” 

He took a look at her. Her face was raised, facing his, lips trembling, flush gone, the black tinted goggles darker and more sinister than he had ever remembered them. Suddenly, he felt like he couldn’t take his eyes off of them, and the rest of her features swam out of focus as his eyes were trapped by the void behind which her eyes hid.

“I’m… I’m very sorry, Naruto-kun. But I can’t go with you.” 

His mind went blank. His lips parted as if to say something, but nothing came out. His eyes were still, entranced by the deep darkness of her goggles, and he suddenly felt that blackness begin to consume him. 

“I’m really sorry.”

His hand slackened, and Nata took the chance to pull herself from his grasp. She stood up, faced the other way, and ran. 

In a daze, he turned slightly to watch her run away, almost knocking into passing villagers as she burst into an alley. Yet all that he could see was the black tint of her goggles, surrounding him, absorbing him, drowning him. 

Nata, the girl who was one of the first to accept him, just rejected him. 

**Days Left: Thirteen and a half.  
Status: No date**


	8. An Alternate Solution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning after Nata runs away, Naruto has a little chat with some people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keep these two events in mind: the way Naruto was whining after Hinata left with Toneri in the Last, and the way Naruto passed out when he was told that the Konoha 11 wanted to dispose of Sasuke. He's a very emotional person.
> 
> Enjoy~

“Naruto, get the hell up.” 

_So loud._

“Naruto, get up.” 

The voice was male, familiar. Irritated.

_Head hurts. Leave me alone._

“Naruto, I get that you’re depressed, but I don’t think lying down in fetal position in the middle of an abandoned room is such a great idea.” 

_Huh?_

Groggily, Naruto opened his eyes, blinking and squinting as harsh sunlight nearly blinded him. 

“Where the hell am I?” His voice came out choked, and he realised just how dry and terrible his mouth and throat felt. It felt like his senses were coming in, one by one, the arrival of each making him want to throw up.

“This should help,” a new voice said, this one sounding more sympathetic, and feminine. 

There was a sudden whooshing sound, and the oppressively bright light suddenly dimmed, and Naruto managed to squint up at a very annoyed looking face leaning down towards him. 

“Shikamaru?” 

“In the flesh,” he added drily.

“Where am I?” Naruto tried sitting up, but was prevented by a sudden, sharp pounding in his head. His stomach was churning, and he felt like throwing up.“I feel like crap. What happened to me?” 

“Here, I brought these for you,” that feminine voice spoke again, and he felt a cold object being pressed into one hand, and a smaller object placed into the other. “It’s water and a pill for your hangover.”

Instinctively, he swallowed the pill and raised the glass to drink. The cool freshness of the water felt like heaven on his parched tongue, and brought him a momentary feeling of clarity. 

“Hangover?” 

“Yeah. Kiba saw everything and told us what happened.” 

That was Shikamaru, who was helping him get up and move to a chair. Opening his eyes fully, he found himself in what looked like a small, dusty office, the door closed and the windows covered by a curtain. There were three vague, blurry figures, one of which he identified as Shikamaru. 

He had never felt this weak before in his life. Clutching his glass of water like an anchor, he took a few moments to steady himself on his chair, vertigo threatening to make him fall over. 

“What… happened?” he finally croaked out, the water helping him recover his voice a bit. 

Shikamaru sighed. 

“Well, from what Kiba said, you were talking with Nata, she suddenly ran off, then you started chasing her like a madman before getting drunk at a bar.” Sighing once more, he raised an eyebrow at Naruto. “I’m guessing you were asking her to the Summit?” 

“O-oh. R-right.” 

It suddenly came crawling back to him, screeching into his abused brain. Nata rejecting him, him sitting there, dazed and confused, before running after her, yelling for her to come back. His mind had been so shaken that he forgot all of his ninja skills, somehow losing her, and he ended up going to a random bar to wallow in his misery. Groaning, he began to shake at the memory, his grip on the glass became so tight that cracks began appearing on it. A sharp, painful feeling stabbed his chest, as though Sasuke had pierced his body with a Chidori and was currently crushing his heart in his hand. The feeling was so grotesque that he wanted to throw up again. 

“Hey, Naruto, just breath, okay, it’s all gonna be okay.” It was that feminine voice again, rubbing soothing circles on his back, but he could hardly feel them. He was starting to hyperventilate. 

_Damn, I was so stupid! Why the hell did I throw myself out there like that?_

“Hey, Naruto, you’re going to be alright, just, calm down, okay?” 

The sounds of her retreating footsteps, his panicked dash after her, that drowning sensation he felt when he couldn’t find her were all weighing down upon him as though the sky had fallen down. He had been so stupid. 

_She, she ran away… from me… ran away…_

“Oh come on, you’re just being melodramatic. You’ve been rejected before, right?” It was a new voice, male and rough, trying to strike up a jovial tone. “It’s not like she punched you or anything, like Sakura would.” 

Naruto didn’t catch that female voice’s angry outbursts. Consumed by overwhelming panic, he fought to keep his eyes from leaking tears. Rejection _was_ all he knew for most of his life. He just never imagined he’d experience it from Nata. 

“Seriously though, there are plenty of fish in the sea! You find someone, someone who isn’t a weirdo.” 

The glass shattered in Naruto’s hands. Shards pierced and cut his skin; blood started running freely over his palm and dripping over onto the floor. Though he could hardly feel the pain, the sensation of warm blood oozing from his hand woke him up a bit, sobering him enough to stare at the blood flowing from his own body, entranced. The scarlet against his skin gave him a certain amount of clarity, and his vision began coming back properly. 

A gloved hand reached over, placing itself over his own and glowing with green light. 

“Kiba! Shut up!” 

The female voice began yelling at Kiba, which merely compounded his headache. Shouldn’t the painkiller’s effects have kicked in by now?

“Okay, Sakura, enough! Naruto’s got a headache over here,” Shikamaru ordered, and the arguing stopped. The cacophony in Naruto’s head did not. “Naruto, look, I’m sorry that she said no, but you have to pull yourself together. You were supposed to meet the elders ten minutes ago, and if they found out that you were passed out drunk in some room in the Hokage’s Office, they’ll be even more pissed than they already are.”

“Shikamaru! Give him a break! He just went through his first heartbreak, give him time to process it!” 

“I get that he’s hurting, Sakura, but as the Hero of Konoha, he had a duty to uphold, and part of that duty is to become presentable for the Summit. He’s a shinobi, he has to endure.” 

“What’s the point of peace if we still have to suffer during it?” Sakura argued back, her voice rising in anger, causing Naruto to wince. “Naruto deserves time to sort things out! He _needs_ time to process! You’re supposed to be a genius, Shikamaru!” 

“Uh, guys?” Kiba interjected, “Not to break up your argument, but Shikamaru’s right, Sakura.” 

“What, that he can’t get a break?” she said furiously. 

“No, that all your yelling isn’t helping with Naruto’s hangover.”

Sakura immediately stopped, turning to look at the still shaking form of Naruto. His head was bowed, eyes shut tight against the noise. 

“Shouldn’t the Kyuubi be healing his hangover for him?” Kiba asked. 

“Not likely if Naruto got drunk in the first place,” Shikamaru answered. “I’m assuming that Naruto asked the Kyuubi to let him get drunk, and probably to let him get hungover..” 

_**Smart fella, that one. He figured out that you asked me to let you be miserable in peace.** _

_Kurama. It… hurts so much._

_**Well of course it does, idiot. It’s your first heartbreak.** _

_I… I don’t understand why._

_**Did you really think this is a simple crush?**_ Kurama growled in frustration within him, and through the clearing haze in his mind, Naruto felt the fox’s chakra getting agitated. 

_Well, what else could it be?_

_**For someone who showed the likes of Zabuza and Gaara the way of love, you sure don’t have a very good understanding of it.** _

_Well, of course I love Nata, I love all of my friends._

_**Not like that. You think that what you feel for her is simple attraction and called it a crush. You’re wrong. Believe me, I’ve been trapped in the bodies of your mother and the First Hokage’s wife. I think I have a pretty good idea of what it looks like when someone’s in love.** _

_Are… are you serious? I thought Ayame-neechan was just teasing._

_**Hero of Konoha and, in the eyes of your enemies, the leading expert on love. If only they all knew. Of course you’re in love with her, you blind oaf. If that girl was simply the object of a crush, you wouldn’t be feeling like you were dying inside.** _

_So… so what I do now?_

_**What do you mean? Keep pursuing her! She didn’t reject you specifically, she just didn’t want to go to the Summit.** _

_Then why the hell did she run away?_

_**What am I, a love guru?** _

_But you said you saw my mom and dad and the First and his wife in action!_

_**I can’t explain the reason behind every little action you puny humans make! I’m telling you to get a proper answer from her. Now, I don’t know much about psychology, but I’ve seen the way she looks at you. Or, rather, sense. I can’t tell what she looks like because of those ridiculous goggles, but when a person is in love, their chakra undergoes a very noticeable change. Their signature doesn’t change, but the feel of it does. And when someone’s around the object of their love, their chakra reacts in a very specific way. You should pay attention the next time you see her. Her chakra reacts very strongly to you.** _

_…. It’s that noticeable?_

_**Yes. She has surprisingly strong chakra for a non-ninja. It’s very similar to the way your chakra reacts to her, and how your parent’s chakra used to react to each other. So, maybe it’s not all over because she said no to going to the Summit. So stop whining and do as that Nara boy tells you.** _

“Naruto.” 

He blinked, and suddenly found himself back on his chair, in the dusty room he had decided to pass out in the other day. He had no idea how long he had been lost to the world, talking with Kurama, but in the time that he did, he had stopped shaking, and his hand had been healed. The pounding in his head had subsided, and he felt considerably better. Either the painkiller had taken effect, or Kurama had secretly used chakra to speed up his recovery while he was distracted. 

“Naruto, are you okay? You sort of blanked out.”

Looking up, he saw Sakura’s concerned face, along with Kiba’s amused expression and Shikamaru’s scowl. Akamaru was there too, licking his other hand. 

“Look, Naruto, I’m sorry, this is all my fault,” Sakura began, her eyes filling with regret. “I should have figured out that Nata would be too nervous to go to the Summit, I shouldn’t have pressured you—”

“Don’t apologise, Sakura-chan.” His voice was weak, and more of a mumble, but it was steadier than before. “It’s… it’s not your fault.”

She looked unconvinced, and was about to open her mouth to say something, but Naruto cut her off. “Look, forget about it. I talked about it with Kurama. I was overreacting, her not wanting to go to the Summit doesn’t mean that she’s rejecting _me_.”

“You must have it bad for her if you reacted this dramatically,” Kiba added, making Naruto blood boil a little. “I mean, I get that she’s really nice, but I’m sort of surprised that you’d like her so much. I mean, she’s not exactly attractive.” 

“Tact, Kiba, tact,” Sakura shot towards him. “Besides, not everyone is as shallow as you when it comes to romance. Nata’s an angel, why wouldn’t Naruto like her? Plus, how would you know that Nata _isn’t_ attractive if she’s always covered up?” 

“Why would she cover up if she _was_ attractive?” Kiba countered. 

“Kiba.” Naruto had enough. “If you keep talking like that about Nata, I will bash your head in. Look, what matters is that Nata doesn’t want to go to the Summit. That’s it. There’s no problem. ” 

Hearing an irate sigh, Naruto directed his focus to Shikamaru, who was rubbing his brow tiredly. 

“Actually, there is one. You still need to find a date.” 

Naruto cursed. 

“Is it absolutely necessary?” Sakura asked. “I mean, Nata’s really the only one for Naruto, and if she doesn’t want to go, then—”

“Look, it’s an order from the daimyo.” They were all taken aback by the way Shikamaru, usually so composed and calm, snapped. “The Hokage’s already exhausted from all the work he has to do. The daimyo has been pestering him with requests about the Summit for a while, and he’ll probably be even more annoying if we failed him on this count. Naruto has to come with a date!” 

“But why? Why is it so important?” 

“The hell I know. I would have expected the daimyo to have wanted the Saviour of the World to come single to set up some arranged marriages, that seems like the more logical choice, but if Naruto’s been ordered to come with a date, then who am I to complain? It’s a mission. We just have to do it.” 

_Arranged marriage?_

Shikamaru rubbed the bridge of his nose and leaned back against a wall. Upon closer inspection (now that Naruto’s head was much clearer) the man looked exhausted. Thinner. More tense. 

“Look, Naruto, I’m sorry that you got your heart broken, and I know that you’re in love with her, but frankly, Nata’s not really a great pick as the Hero of Konoha’s date. I’m sorry, that’s the truth. She works for a ramen place, she has a condition which makes her wear goggles all day, and she never takes off that towel from her head.” Naruto frowned and felt a pang of anger at Shikamaru’s comment. “What you need now is an alternative. Take one of your fangirls, one who is preferably not insane. Either that or the Hokage will have to assign a kunoichi as your date.” 

“Wait, what?” 

“Kakashi just wanted to give you a choice. But if you can’t pick, then we’ll have to pick for you. It’ll be treated as a mission though, which will make things more awkward.” 

Silence fell in the room as Naruto slumped forward. Kiba watched him with sympathy while Sakura glared at Shikamaru, as though blaming him. Naruto just wanted to go talk to Nata. See if things were okay. He didn’t want to deal with this date business now. 

After a couple minutes of shifting around, Shikamaru took another deep sigh, and spoke. 

“Look, Naruto, I think that right now, your best option is just to take Sakura.” 

“What?” the girl in question screeched, raising her fist. “Why me?” 

“Because you two are already comfortable with each other. As teammates it would be easier for him to take you as his date. Besides, the tabloids think you two are an item already.”

“I think he’s right,” Kiba added after a moment of silence. 

Naruto couldn’t help but scowl. He had already thought that it would be weird if he didn’t ask Nata to the Summit but asked her out afterwards. But if he were to take Sakura to the Summit, someone he was already rumoured to be involved with, then Nata might get the wrong impression, and Naruto might lose any possible chance he may still have.

“Look, Naruto, just think about it. Right now, you’re already incredibly late to meeting the elders. Just go, and you can think about Nata and your date later on.” 

Naruto nodded dully. Getting up, he slowly trudged out of the room, not sparing his three comrades a second glance as he accelerated, running out of the Hokage’s Office and into the cool morning breeze outside. The air smelled fresh and earthy, and much of the village was wet.

_Did it rain last night?_

_**Yes, it did, actually. Believe it or not, the sky was crying over your heartbreak just as much as you were.** _

_Ha ha_

His previous meetings with the elders always took place in a rather fancy house at the top of the Hokage Monument, but he went the opposite direction instead, towards his apartment building. Jumping from building to building, he landed his own roof. His and Nata’s spot. 

Hours went by as he lay there, watching the clouds drift by, consumed by thoughts of Nata. He ignored the call of his empty stomach and parched mouth, wallowing in his own sadness. Though his conversation with Kurama certainly helped, he couldn’t help but feel like he needed to mourn his own loss. 

_**You’re being melodramatic, brat. __**_

__But he ignored the Tailed Beast, opting instead to relive the moment he asked her over in his head, again and again, trying to see what he could have done better. How could he have worded it so that she wouldn’t have run away? Was there any hint that some part of her wanted to?_ _

__The day slipped away, and night had fallen by the time Naruto decided it was time to return to his apartment. He took a glance in Ichiraku’s general direction. Throughout the day, he had times where he desperately wanted to go approach her, but every time the urge came, something inside him pushed it away. Despite Kurama’s reassurances, doubt clawed at him, scratching away at his confidence and making him waiver._ _

__It still hurt so much._ _

___Nata is a nervous person. But if Nata really does like me like everyone else keep saying, then shouldn’t she have said yes anyways?_ _ _

_**__ ** _

_**_****Days Left: Twelve  
Status: In pain** ** _ ** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a bit nervous about this one. Was the pacing weird? Was Naruto too emotional? Was he not emotional enough? Did he "recover" too quickly (not that he really recovered)? While I know what it's like to pine for someone, I don't have too good an understanding of rejection and heartbreak (not that I want to know). The last time I confessed to someone, we ended up shaking hands and went back to being good friends, like nothing ever happened. Then again, it was a totally different because I was leaving the country at the time. I wasn't even asking her out, and they never explicitly rejected me, so i can't really relate. Not to mention that this is Naruto, who's emotions frankly work completely differently to most people.
> 
> Anyways, please feel free to leave any suggestions or advice. I really would like to be able to improve my writing so that I could convey these types of scene better in the future. The best writing comes from the heart, but I can try to mimic the feeling as best as I can :)


	9. Feeling a Little Angry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto needs to vent a little...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoy~

**Some years ago…** \------------------------------------------------------------------------  
The day was bleak, and cold. Though the citizens of Konoha went by their lives, undisturbed and unaware, the shinobi community was on its toes. Security had been increased, and a general sense of unease settled upon the ninja already on edge from the recent Suna-Oto invasion and the death of the Third Hokage. 

There had been a desertion. 

One particularly uneasy ninja was Uzumaki Naruto, thirteen and just out of the hospital after healing from his injuries. Injuries inflicted by the deserter, his once — still — best friend. 

“The usual, please” 

Teuchi gawked at the morose little figure sitting alone on the stool in front of the counter. The regular populace had not been informed of Uchiha Sasuke’s desertion, so to the ramen cook, Naruto looked incredibly out of character indeed. 

“Of course.” 

There was a long moment of silence as Teuchi worked where Naruto, usually so boisterous and bouncy, simply stared at the chopsticks in his hand. He had made a promise to save his friend no matter what, and, in a couple days, was off on what the Pervy Sage promised would be a three year long training trip. At the time, he had been fairly enthusiastic, but now that the adrenaline had worn off… he had a lot to think about. 

Finally, unable to handle the suspense, Teuchi spoke in his gentlest voice. 

“So, something went wrong on a mission.” 

“Kind of.” Naruto’s reply was quiet, subdued. Teuchi frowned. 

“You wanna talk about it?” 

Naruto shook his head. 

“Okay then, just know that if you ever have any problems, _anything_ at all that you need to talk about with someone… we’re here for you.” 

Naruto nodded in response. 

Setting Naruto’s bowl in front of him, Teuchi wiped his hands on a towel before announcing in a very odd and staged voice, “I forgot I have some business to attend to, I’ll just have Nattou take over for now, okay?” 

Startled, Naruto raised his head abruptly at Teuchi’s suggestion, then nodded, turning his attention back to idly playing with his ramen. Teuchi merely shook his head sorrowfully at the sight and went inside. 

Five minutes later, Nata burst out. 

“A-ah, Naruto-kun, you’ll be w-wanting seconds after th-that, yes?” Her eyes were, as always, hidden under her goggles, but from her slight blush, Naruto could tell that she was flustered by something. Though, then again, she always was. 

She hurried to the counter, and almost tripped on herself, tumbling graceless through the kitchen. Just barely grabbing onto the stove before falling, she upset a large pot of soup slightly and splashed large quantities on it on the floor. 

“Oh, n-no… oh no, p-please excuse me…” 

Naruto couldn’t help but laugh a little, a slight smirk breaking out across his lips. He began to eat his ramen a little faster. 

“What’s the matter, princess?” he quipped, remembering some lines from a cheesy play Kakashi once took them on during a mission. “Your diamond shoes too slippery?” 

Her blush brightened a bit more. 

To him, Nata was always somehow amusing. She was so weird and uncoordinated, so clumsy, yet there was something very sincere in her, something that made him feel so much more relaxed and honest with her. The way she worked so hard at improving herself was inspiring, but Naruto found most non-shinobi, especially kids his age, to be wasting their time unless they were training. 

“S-so, you’ve b-been gone for a while. M-mission?” Naruto knew that she loathed initiating conversation, but that Teuchi made her do so to build confidence. Personally, it was both hysterical that she could barely talk when her entire family was involved in a shop, and quite impressive that she pushed herself like that when her father wasn’t even around. 

“No… actually, I’ve been in the hospital.” 

Nata stopped cleaning the spilled soup and dropped her rag in shock as she gasped. She looked towards Naruto with what he could only assume was a horrified expression. 

“H-Hospital? W-were you… hurt b-badly?” 

“Kind of? It’s hard for me to choose which injuries are “bad” and which are “not a big deal”, ya know? I have a very high pain tolerance.” 

She nodded slowly. 

“Th-that’s… g-good. W-were you injured on a m-mission?” 

“Oh, yeah, uhh,” his expression darkened, but seeing Nata stare at him curiously while continuously wiping the same spot with her rag reminded him of how she cheered him up when he failed the genin exam, or before he faced Neji, or after the Third died. “My… you know Sasuke right?” 

Her increased blush did not make him feel better. 

“Y-yeah, f-rom your t-team.” 

“Yeah, well, not anymore.” 

“N-not any...more?” 

“He left. He left our team, left the village, left everything behind because he was being controlled by some evil ninja called Orochimaru!” He growled, but suddenly stopped when, with shaking hands, Nata replaced his empty first bowl with a full second one. 

“S-sasuke-san? Why?” 

“Power,” he spat with disgust. “Sasuke’s making a mistake. He’s being controlled by Orochimaru! Tricked! But I’m gonna bring him back, I swear, and he’ll see that he was wrong all along, ya know!” 

He was expecting her to scoff and tell him that it’s an impossible feat, like Kakashi or Pervy Sage. He thought he’d get at least quiet disbelief, like Tsunade. Even Shikamaru, when he visited Naruto in the hospital, expressed doubts of recovering Sasuke as an ally. He did not expect to see Nata smile shyly. 

“I-I’m sure that Na-Naruto-kun will succeed.” 

Completely dumbfounded and speechless, he stared at Nata, who’s whole figure turned red. Eventually, after much gaping and dribbling ramen, he spoke.

“R-really? You really think that I can do it?” 

She nodded her head vigorously, ducking under to fiddle with some cabinets as a way to avoid eye contact. 

“ O-of course! N-Naruto-kun is very s-strong! Y-you can do anything th-that you set y-your mind upon!” 

He merely stared at her, and she pressed on, still looking away and embarrassed and red but unable to stop. 

“Y-you always come in w-with stories about you t-training. At first, you always c-come with failure stories, b-but you always end up m-mastering it in the end! M-me, I can only serve the ramen th-that my dad has already made, I-I’m useless in the kitchen.” She took a hurried look at Naruto’s outraged look, and quickly moved on. “Wh-what m-matters is that you w-work so hard! Against H-Hyuuga N-Neji, you f-fought to the end, never giving up! Th-that was so cool!”

“But I lost to Neji!” 

“S-still, you p-pressured him a lot! And everyone was s-so impressed by you that th-they ignored N-Neji-san, who actually won! And after that, y-you still kept training! Getting stronger! You never stop until you finish th-the job, whether it’s a mission, a skill, or ramen! W-with S-Sasuke-san, he m-may have been tricked by this… Oro.. Oro… this person. But you can still save him! I know you will! Because you have saved others before, and you always k-keep your word, so I b-believe in you! ” 

He continued to stare in amazement at her. Beginning to blush, he suddenly felt very self-conscious. It was certainly not the first time she encouraged him, but it was the first time she did it so adamantly. It felt… nice. 

“Thanks, Nata!” he said, giving her a genuine, happy smile. “You and your family have always believed in me, ya know, and you were all the first to accept me.” 

She smiled shyly back before ducking down to play with some more pots. 

“W-we will always believe in you, Naruto-kun. And w-we will always accept you, n-no m-matter what.”  
_____________________________________________________________________________

 **Present** \--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kiba went whizzing through the air like a frisbee, crashing into a tree and bringing it down before slumping on the ground with a low moan, Akamaru crashing into the grass next to him. After a minute, he tried getting back to his feet, only to have Lee fly into him, accompanied by a powerful gust of wind style ninjutsu that sent them rolling across the dirt. 

“Aren’t you being a little rough, Naruto?” Sakura panted as she herself got up from the grass and charged at Naruto, violently swinging her fists. Naruto barely dodged them, swinging his own body out of reach as each chakra powered fist came whirling through the air, threatening to blow his head off. Suddenly crouching low to avoid a punch, he swung out his leg to catch hers, only for her to jump out of the way, flip in midair, and send a fist crashing towards his head. Naruto jumped out of the way as the ground where he stood was obliterated, coughing as the dust cloud created from Sakura’s impact engulfed him. Sakura jumped back, ready to anticipate his next move, only for a large Fuma shuriken to fly out of the dust cloud. She dodged it, only for the shuriken to transform into Naruto just as she ducked. As he flipped to slam his heel down at her head, Sakura twisted her body and grabbed his other leg and swung him in a circle before moving to slam him down at the ground. Too late, she sensed movement behind her as the real Naruto flew past the debris with a lariat. Unable to dodge completely, she swung her left arm to try and block it, only for the impact of his attack to push her back and break her centre. Using the distraction, the clone she had been swinging towards the ground landed on his hands, twisted his leg out of Sakura grip and kicked at her head. 

“Ugh!” 

Sakura was knocked to the dirt with a grunt and a gasp. In reflex, she tried to kick herself back into a standing position, but her legs were pinned down by the real Naruto. The clone grabbed her arms, only for her to grab on to his elbow, use her super strength and shatter his arm, dispelling the clone. She tried to clobber down at the real body, only for him to grab her hand. Trying to channel chakra into it in order to force her way out, she suddenly felt unable to concentrate her chakra at her limbs, and felt a slight draining sensation. 

“What the hell is this?” she demanded. 

Naruto didn’t smirk, but there was a superior look on his sweaty face. 

“Testing out my prosthetic arm. It’s made of Hashirama cells, so it has some of Old Man First’s abilities, ya know. Now, I can’t use Wood Style completely, but I can use some part of it, like chakra absorption. 

Frowning, she stopped struggling and conceded defeat. Naruto, his breathing slightly laboured, helped her up; she, on the other hand, looked like her lungs were being squeezed. The entire sparring match had felt like a slaughter. Though it was meant to be a four-way free-for-all, she, Kiba, and Lee ended up having to team up against a significantly more aggressive Naruto. 

He suddenly looked remorseful as he took the others in: Sakura was on the verge of collapse; Kiba and Akamaru were still down and completely dazed; and Rock Lee, who had managed to hold his own the best out of any of them, was wobbling slightly as he made his way over to Naruto, breathing hard. 

“Oh man, guys, I’m really sorry about this.” 

Lee tried to wave the apology off, before falling into a coughing fit. 

“We should… just… do… . Tai...jutsu… next time,” Sakura gasped out. 

A few days had passed since Nata’s rejection, and this was the first time Naruto had gone out of his apartment save for the few times we went for his regular meetings with the elders, though he might as well have skipped them for how little he paid attention. Despite constant nagging from Sakura, Shikamaru and even Ino, he had outright refused to join them for lunch or agreed to hang out. It wasn’t until Shikamaru threatened to go and talk to Nata himself that Naruto reluctantly agreed to have this little sparring session. 

_”Fighting will give you some relief,”_ Shikamaru had told him. _”It should let you blow off some steam.”_

His advice had worked at first; between summoning close to a hundred clones to completely overwhelm his comrades and mindlessly attacking them with brute force, he felt a momentary respite from the immense stress he had gone through the past few days thinking back to Nata’s response. 

However, it was short lived. Other than Sasuke, there wasn’t a single person in Konoha, or even the world who could give him enough of a fight to completely take his mind off of his troubles, so, after an initial burst of adrenaline, Naruto found himself longing for Ichiraku, talking and laughing with _her_ and eating _her_ ramen. As he beat the crap out of Kiba, he found himself wishing he could go back to staring at her wonderful smile, trying to decipher her expression hidden behind those mysterious glasses. 

_Maybe she was self-conscious about her condition._

He shook his head. He had spent close to three days trying to think about what exactly was going through her head. The very situation was ironic; usually when he was under that much stress and had that much on his mind, he would go to Ichiraku to talk it over with Nata. This time, the source of his stress _was_ Nata. 

“So,” Sakura said, regaining her bearing a little and healing Lee a little as he lied on the grass coughing, “You, you feel any better?” 

Smiling, he shook his head. 

“Thanks for trying, though. I really appreciate it.” 

She looked at him with sympathy in her eyes. Patting a now more stable Lee, she started walking towards a still unconscious Kiba, speaking over her shoulder as she did. 

“Sparring didn’t work, ice cream didn’t work, crates of instant ramen didn’t work. Naruto, you have a proper conversation with Nata, one where she can’t run away.” 

“Oh, yeah, like that will help,” he laughed hollowly, bitterness settling in as he sat down on the dirt. “The last time you gave me that exact advice, I ended up like this.”

“Come on, even if you got rejected, that was still the right thing to do then, and it’s the right thing to do now.” Turning to look at him, she frowned like a mother scolding her child. “Look, at least didn’t end up moping around wondering what she would have said. And, you know, Nata isn’t the type to just run away without an explanation. She’s by far the weirdest and most mysterious civilian I know, but she’s still very sincere in her ways. If that makes sense. And I know that she cares about you a lot. She wouldn’t have left you like that without a very good reason.”

“Of course I know that!” he protested, feeling irritation clawing at him. “I think I’d know her better than you!” 

“Then act like it. For someone who’s supposed to be the expert on deciphering her feelings under those goggles, you’re being surprisingly dense.” 

Naruto felt incredibly offended. Was it wrong of him to want to avoid talking to Nata at the moment, considering what happened? 

It wasn’t like he didn’t _want_ to speak to her; if anything, him being in the villages and _not_ hanging out with her was killing him. But something that he decided while hiding out in his apartment was that if she ran away, then she herself needed time. He knew better than Sakura that Nata, while shy and occasionally uncertain of herself, was no coward who did things randomly. His invitation to the Summit clearly bothered her somehow. 

At least, that’s what he hoped was the case.

He was about to say so when Lee pointed somewhere beyond the training grounds. 

“There’s someone watching!” 

Turning around, Naruto caught sight of a figure hiding shyly by the trees. He frowned. 

“Whoever you are, there’s no point in hiding! Show yourself!” he loudly called out. 

At first, nothing happened. Then, as though spurred on by some external power, a young boy of about thirteen burst out of the tree line and rushed straight towards him. He was well dressed, wearing a rich-looking deep green kimono, and his hair was brown and sleek. Skidding to a halt right in front of Naruto, he gazed up in wonderment, stars shining in his eyes. 

Internally, Naruto groaned. Another fan. 

“Wow… Uzumaki Naruto-sama! Right here, in the flesh!” 

“Naruto...sama?” Kiba asked weekly in the background, having just come to. 

He was ignored as the boy bowed before extending a hand with Naruto reluctantly shook. As per usual, Naruto took the time to get a feel of his hands. Smooth, clearly well maintained, the hands of a rich boy who has never worked a day in his life.

“Shimizu Shigeru, please to finally meet you! When I came to this village with my sister, I thought, oh wow, I hope I’ll get to meet Uzumaki Naruto-sama, and I had such big hopes, but I couldn’t find you anything, but then a kind ninja in the village said you might be training here, so I came hoping to catch even just a glimpse of you, but to get to see you in combat, oh you were amazing, it was like nothing I’d ever seen!” 

“Uhh, that’s great…. Uhh… Shigeru,” Naruto said awkwardly. 

If anything, that caused the boy’s eyes to dance with delight even more, and he actually squealed. 

“The Uzumaki Naruto-sama is calling me by just my first name…. Wow! This is by far the greatest day of my entire life!” His eyes glowing brighter, he leaned closer to Naruto. “Hey, hey, by the way, I heard a rumour that you were chasing after a girl a few days ago, is that true? Was she your girlfriend? Should I go chasing after girls too, is that how dating works?” 

“NO!” Naruto practically screamed. “No, that wasn’t me, just someone who looks a lot like me, and you shouldn’t chase anyone!” 

Slightly overwhelmed, Naruto scratched his neck and looked at his comrades for support. Sakura took pity on him and spoke up. 

“So, Shigeru… uh… san? You look nice, where are you from?” 

Clearly, Sakura had noticed the state of Shigeru’s clothing and immediately guessed that he was the son of some visiting dignitary. Naruto cursed in his head. He’d have to be extra nice to this boy. This boy, who was still gazing adoringly at Naruto, completely ignoring Sakura. 

_Well, might as well find out who’s ass I’ll be forced to kiss._

“So, uh, Shigeru. Where are you from?” 

Shigeru squealed once more.

“Wow, _the_ Uzumaki Naruto is taking interest in _me_? Oh my God, this is so amazing, I—”

“Shigeru, maybe, uh, answer the question?”

“Oh, of course! I’m the son of the Daimyo of the Land of Waves!”

_Land of Waves?_

**Days Left: 9  
Status: No date**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this chapter didn't come across as too rushed... pacing is something that I struggle a bit with.


	10. Daimyo of the Land of Waves?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto asks Shigeru some more questions.

He was only half listening as Shigeru kept rambling on about all he had heard about Naruto. His brain whirled into high gear as he processed this piece of information. Despite having boomed to relative prosperity following the completion of Tazuna’s bridge, the Land of Waves had remained a fairly minor nation. If the daimyo’s son was here, now, then the Land of Waves must have been one of the non-Five Great nations that has been invited to attend, which meant something was up. 

Yet even weirder was that Naruto hadn’t _heard_ of a Waves daimyo. There was no mention of an organised government aside from Gatou’s corporation during his first C-rank mission there, nor any mention of any feudal lord of any sort during his last visit to Tazuna a year ago. It hadn’t been an official visit, of course, but Naruto had left with the impression that the country was run by some form of oligarchy (Kakashi had been adamant that Naruto study more about politics and governments since assuming the role of Hokage). 

Had there always been a Waves daimyo, or was this a new development he hadn’t heard of that took place in the year since his visit? Naruto frowned as he thought this all through. The Land of Waves was a small and quiet nation that had been through a lot that it didn’t deserve.  
This information, though seeming insignificant, made him feel a little… disturbed. Slightly… angry. The fact that there might have been someone in charge the whole time and simply let Gatou get away with his circus of cruelty made him feel….

Angry. 

“Land of Waves?” Sakura asked in the middle of Shigeru’s frenzied ranting, clearly on the same wavelength as Naruto. “I didn’t know they had a daimyo.” 

Naruto had to practically tackle her to prevent her from striking Shigeru, who completely ignored her question and was now just staring intensely at Naruto with a dazed look on his face. 

“So, daimyo huh?” Naruto tried to ask casually while keeping an enraged Sakura from hurting the boy. 

“Oh yes! My sister says that dad sent her here for some business, and I came along hoping to see you, and I _did_.” He looked from Naruto to Sakura as the former continued to keep a strong grip on the latter, who had murder in her eyes. 

Sakura hated being ignored. 

“Are you two dating, is she the person everyone says you were chasing after?” 

Naruto almost had to activate his prosthetic arm’s chakra absorption abilities to keep Sakura from exploding at Shigeru. 

“Nope,” he grunted as he struggled to hold the furious kunoichi back, “believe me, there wasn’t any ‘chasing’, remember? I told you, it was just someone who looked like me.” 

Shigeru nodded vigorously, and continued to stare in awe at Naruto, who managed to convince Sakura to calm down and help out Kiba, who was still moaning in pain in the background, comforted by a very uncomfortable looking Lee. 

“Fine, but make sure you find out what this whole Waves-daimyo business is,” she shot at him when she finally relented and stomped off to their injured friend. 

He only nodded in response before turning back to his crazy fan, plastering on the fakest, brightest smile that he had. 

“So, tell me, Shigeru,” he coughed, trying to sound as natural as possible, “uhh, how long has your dad been daimyo?” 

He felt a strong connection to the country where he fought Haku and formed his Ninja Way, yet never thought to pay much attention to its governance once Gatou had been disposed of. He had just assumed that everything worked out after that. 

_Just another thing I’ll need to work on before I become Hokage._

What mattered to him now was to find out who was in charge, and for how long. Mostly because of his connection to Tazuna, Inari and the people of the Waves. 

But also because Kurama had begun chanting in his head. 

_**This will be an excellent way to distract yourself from the girl. Even if sparring didn’t work, I’m sure politics that wasn’t explained from those skeletons Konoha refers to as elder might do the trick.** _

“No idea, but I know that he’s been daimyo long before my sister was born!” Shigeru replied happily. 

“Uhuh… sure…. and how old is your sister?” 

A large part of him wanted him to start talking about a baby sister.

“Eighteen-ish?” 

Blood began to pound through his head. Images of Inari, crying over his father, killed by Gatou’s men, began flying through his head. The devastation left behind by the greed of that evil corporate machine came back into prominence. 

_Is this little bastard actually telling me that Waves had a daimyo while Gatou was off having Inari’s dad killed and wreaking havoc and poverty and starvation everywhere?_

Naruto was often told that when people are already on edge over something, their reaction any seemingly unrelated aggravation could easily become significantly more aggressive than what they would usually be. In this case, Naruto, who was already incredibly stressed over the whole situation with Nata and the fact that he needed a date to this Summit, felt a powerful, hot rage build up over this piece of news. 

_This man was supposed to be their leader, their feudal lord in charge of running and protecting the country, and he just let Gatou take over, and let Waves rot while people like Tazuna were running around trying to fix things on their own?_

His frustrations over Nata and the Summit bubbled over. He needed an outlet to vent those frustrations, and it didn’t look like physical activity was helping much. He felt for the people there, had seen first hand the conditions they’d been left in, had eaten from their hand. The knowledge that there was a secret daimyo all along who was just now showing his face made Naruto’s blood boil to an unbearably hot temperature. 

Suddenly, he began to really take notice of Shigeru. He took in the rich material of the boy’s robes with disgust, and was revolted by the sheer extravagance of the designs upon it. The wave designs on it suddenly looked to flamboyant, the threads were somehow brighter in an unpleasantly blinding way, and the deep green colour too was sickly and neon. 

_And his hands… they’re so… horribly smooth, like he’s never even held a spoon._

It took a bit of self control for him to stop getting worked up. He knew that it was stupid to hate this boy for what his father may or may not have done — Naruto still didn’t have the full details — and he knew that the path to peace would involve looking past things like that. Yet, in the couple of years since the Fourth Shinobi War ended, Naruto spent a lot of time on missions or simply travelling between countries. On those journeys, he saw a lot of inequality. Even his own country, the Land of Fire, struggled with closing the gap between the peasantry and the aristocracy. And it was still considered a ‘progressive’ nation. Reminding him of his childhood, the sights frustrated him to no end, and furthered his own drive to become Hokage. 

Yet his biggest memories of utter poverty and degradation were still from those long, arduous weeks in the Waves during his mission there as a genin. Whenever he saw another shabby ghetto, or groups of the homeless begging for food, or orphans huddled together against the cold, abandoned and alone, he thought of his own childhood, thought of Nagato, Yahiko and Konan, and, ultimately, thought of Inari, and the other children he met on that mission, and how emaciated they had looked. 

Compared to that, this Shigeru was similar to Chouji in body shape. And Naruto was sure that, unlike Chouji, Shigeru didn’t need body fat to do ninjutsu.

He examined the boy closely. It was clear that Shigeru was completely clueless and had no idea what was going. However, he did mention that he came with a sister, which likely meant that the daimyo’s daughter had been sent to deal with the Summit. 

_**Excellent deductive skills. It seems like your lessons with the elders didn’t go to waste after all.** _

_Hey, Kurama?_

_**Hmm?** _

_Shut up._

The Tailed Beast chuckled. 

_**Go ahead, investigate. It’ll take your mind off of your love problems.**_

Naruto agreed. 

“So, eighteen years as daimyo, that’s… wow. So is he also here, or is it just you and your sister?” 

“Just me and sis,” the boy confirmed, now looking like he was trying to mentally take a photograph. 

“Could I… uh… meet her?” 

This seemed to shock Shigeru. 

“Why?” 

_To find out where the hell your dad was when Gatou was screwing your country over._

“Well, I actually have some business about the Land of Waves, and since your sister seems to be your dad’s representative… I thought, hey, who better to talk about this with than her?” 

Shigeru nodded slowly. Finally, without taking his eyes off of Naruto, he beckoned for the hero to follow him, excitement flooding his features and movement so that he looked more like an overstimulated gerbil. 

“So you later, guys!” Naruto called back to his friends as he began walking back to the village with Shigeru. “I got some diplomatic stuff to do!” 

Sakura called out with a “Good luck!”, Lee did the thumbs up and Kiba moaned.  
______________________________________________________________________________

They walked for close to half an hour back into the village towards the hotel in which Shigeru’s sister was staying in, the little boy rambling all the way about things that Naruto really didn’t catch. Though the trip to the training grounds from the village was barely ten minutes, the trip took longer to account for Shigeru’s getting absolutely winded. 

Naruto, for his part, simply only asked questions where he felt it was important. Or rather, just one question.

“So, why are you in Konoha? Why not the Land of Fire capital?” 

“Security? I wasn’t listening, I was too excited by the prospect of meaning the great Uzumaki Naruto, which I did! Oh my god, this feels so amazing!” 

Despite the irritation he felt at Shigeru’s over the top answer, he nevertheless was reminded of being told by Kakashi about extra security measures for the upcoming Summit. It was simply safer for important dignitaries to stay in friendly Hidden Villagers instead of some actual hotel. 

But, as it turned out, they didn’t even need to reach the hotel. 

“Shigeru. There you are.” 

A voice, a soft, femine, and very elegant floated towards them. Even Naruto, who barely paid attention to these sorts of things, felt that it was very pleasant to the ears. 

“Neesan!” Shigeru whirled around, eagerness practically pouring from his eyes, and Naruto turned towards the source of the voice. Had he been slightly courser, he would have whistled. 

Walking towards them on the street was a very tall, very beautiful young woman. Clad in a similar kimono to her brother’s, hers was bluer than it was green, and her hair, which was held in an elegant bun with a few golden hairpieces, was a vibrant green instead of brown, and looked very sleek. Her face was incredibly pleasing to look at, with soft, delicate features, sharp blue eyes like Shigeru’s and a tasteful amount of make-up applied. 

Simply put, she radiated sophistication and beauty. 

Coming to a graceful halt in front of them, she withdrew a hand from her kimono sleeves and opened up a simple fan, waving it at herself as she looked at Shigeru cooly. 

“Wandering off?” 

“I met Uzumaki Naruto!” Shigeru protested, the gleam growing in his face as he pointed a shaky finger at Naruto. “The Uzumaki Naruto!” 

The beautiful woman blinked, and looked over at Naruto. Recognition flickered in her eyes as she took in his signature whiskers. To her credit, instead of gasping and freaking out like most people, her eyes simply widened slightly, and she smiled politely. Inclining her head in a bow, she greeted him incredibly formally, the picture of royalty. 

“It is my honour to meet you, Uzumaki-sama. I have heard much about you. We of the Land of Waves greatly admire you.” 

He rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment before the impact of her last sentence hit him. 

“Yeah, well thanks. So, you’re the daughter of the Land of Waves’ daimyo, is that correct.” 

She bowed slightly once again and nodded. 

“I am Shimizu Naomi, pleased to meet you, Uzumaki-sama.”

_Right, how do I make you admit that your dad is a pig who let his constituents be tortured by a machine fueled by the evilest capitalism had to offer?_

“What are you doing? In the village?”

 _Sure, that works too._

“I am acting as my father’s representative. He is ill and unable to attend the Five Powers Summit, which we have been invited to.”

 _So I was right._

“I see. So you’re just waiting around the village?”

She tilted her head to the side, with a slight smile.

“Yes, my brother and I are taking the time to explore the village. We came here so early due to issues with travelling from the Waves that still unfortunately persist to this day.” She paused to examine him with her eyes. “And, to be honest, we were hoping to catch sight of the famous Hero of the Leaf, and of the Waves. You are the guest of honour for the Summit, after all. I wanted to get acquainted beforehand.” 

_That’s suspicious._

_**It really isn’t.** _

“Ah, that guest of honour thing and hero stuff is trouble, you should ignore that. I’m just me, Naruto, eating ramen and doing what’s right. ” 

She did the same ‘tilting head and smiling’ move again, looking a little amused. Shigeru was beaming. 

She was definitely a pretty sight. 

“That’s awfully modest of you, Uzumaki-sama.” She took a step closer and waved her fan a bit more before suddenly beginning to bow slightly.

“He—? What?” 

“In the name of my people, thank you for helping with the Great Naruto Bridge, Uzumaki-sama.” She spoke with sincerity in her voice. “I know it isn’t much, but could the Hero of the Land of Waves please join me and my brother for some tea?” She looked down at his dusty uniform. “It would be our honour to take away your troubles after extraneous activity.” 

Shigeru eagerly squealed yet again. 

_So formal—! So unnecessary! It’s sort of funny._

_**You’re not actually going to join them for tea, right?** _

_Why not?_

_**Because you should go talk to Nata first.** _

_Oh…_ A painful sensation ripped through him as he remembered the way she ran away from him. He.. wasn’t ready to face her again. 

_Well, you said that I needed to distract myself!_

_**Yes, but now that we’ve seen the sister, I think it might not be such a good idea after all.** _

_Why, what’s wrong with the sister?_

_**.... You are an idiot** _

_You’re the idiot. You keep switching your stance._

_**Because the situation keeps changing!** _

_How is the situation different?_

_**Well… I don’t actually know, but it just is! Something feels wrong!** _

_That makes no sense!_

_**Look, just ask her about the daimyo and get out!** _

_What’s wrong with me having tea with a visiting noble?_

_**It’s just… I have a bad feeling.** _

_Oh sure, a bad feeling huh. Look, Kurama… I should do this. I need to find out about the Land of Waves. It’s not just about distracting myself. I need to find out what their dad was doing while Gatou was active._

_**But why?** _

_I just..._ Another excuse to continue to avoid Nata? 

_I care a lot about that country. I should know who’s leading it._

When the fox stopped rambling, Naruto smiled up at Naomi. 

“I’d love to.” 

Too late, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that someone was off on the opposite side of the street, watching from next to a bookstore. 

Ayame, who was glaring at him, disappointment etched in her face. 

Naruto now knew what Kurama was talking about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this chapters alright. I struggled a bit with the ending, but I think it should be fine.
> 
> I swear, this Naomi thing isn't just some cheap drama. There's more to it.


	11. A Talk with Ayame

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto has a little talk with Ayame over what has happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoy this chapter! I haven't had much time recently to write, but I was getting antsy from not having posted anything this week.
> 
> 28/08/2020: Fixed some errors and mistakes. Added a bit more.

_Crap._

He had been midstep following Naomi and Shigeru back to their hotel when he noticed Ayame. Freezing in place, he managed to trip and fall straight on his face. 

“Aw crap!” 

The daimyo’s children turned around in surprise, only for Naruto to spring up just in time to avoid them seeing the Saviour of the World sprawled over the street like a starfish. He turned his back to them to cover up the mild blush that had developed over his cheek due to such a blunder. Luckily, no one had noticed, otherwise the media would have had an absolute field day. Rubbing his nose, and cursing softly under his breath, he took a deep breath and turned to look at them, sheepishly grinning at the two. 

“Sorry, could I catch up with you two in like, five minutes? I just remembered that I had someone I really needed to talk to.” 

Shigeru looked crushed, and looked as though he was about to protest, but Naomi merely nodded her head, giving him a soft smile and placing a firm hand on her younger brother. 

“Of course, Uzumaki-sama. Please, take your time. We shall be waiting around this area. ” 

Putting up a quick thumbs up, he dashed over to where Ayame was already walking away. 

“Yo, Ayame-neechan!” 

She didn’t even turn around to look at him. 

This was bad. Ayame, despite her attempts to push him and her sister together, was incredibly protective of Nata, and the fact that she was walking away this quickly, while ignoring him, was bad news. 

“Ayame-neechan, wait up! I need to talk to you!” He cursed under his breath as Ayame simply sped up. Her treatment of him was more than likely indicative of how badly he hurt Nata. “Please, just talk to me. I need to talk to you!” 

“Am I really the one you need to talk to, hmm?” Ayame shot back, not even looking at him. 

He balled up his fists in frustration. 

“Look, Ayame-neechan! I just wanted to ask you how Nata was doing! And to explain what was happening there! Trust me, it was not what it looked like!” 

“Oh, can you tell me what it looked like then?” 

“Ayame-neechan! Please, please just hear me out!” Naruto's voice was rising in desperation, even as he tried to keep his head down to avoid recognition on the street. “Let’s talk about this!” 

“Oh, oh right then, let’s talk.” Abruptly, Ayame stopped so that Naruto shot past her slightly. She folded her arms and glared at him. “First, you ask out my little sister to the biggest event of the year. My little sister with social anxiety who also happens to like you, two things that you were well aware of.” 

“Hey, in my defense, I always thought that you were just teasing!” 

“Next,” her voice grew a little louder, “after she tells you she can’t go, instead of sorting things out by coming after her, you instead avoid her for days, and don’t even come by the restaurant, making her feel horrible about telling you no.”

Naruto was about to open his mouth to try and defend himself, but nothing came out. It was true. It was so blatantly obvious and he had completely ignored it. He was a coward who was self-consumed by his own heartbreak. Though he knew that he probably would have hurt Nata’s feelings, he hadn’t even considered just how much refusing him must have worried the generally very eager-to-help and compassionate Nata. 

“And now, I see you flirting with this fancy girl as if nothing had happened.” 

“I wasn’t flirting with her!” Naruto protested. “I barely was having a conversation with her, she’s just some noble!” 

“You were looking all happy and were smiling and going to follow her,” she accused. 

“Well… she invited me to have tea, but that’s just because she’s the daughter of the daimyo of the Land of Waves! You remember me telling you about the Land of Waves, right? Well, apparently she’s going to be representing her country in the upcoming Summit!” 

“Oh, so have you thrown away my sister to ask out this random noble?” Ayame’s eyes narrowed, and she straightened her back slightly. Despite not being a shinobi, at that very moment, Teuchi’s eldest daughter truly looked terrifying. 

“What? No! Definitely not! Stop making things up!” 

“Then why were you talking to this random woman instead of talking things through with my sister?”Ayame demanded, before shaking her head in disgust. “I thought you liked her.” 

Gulping, Naruto closed his mouth. Ayame was right, they were all right, he had to go see Nata, had to make sure she knew that he wasn’t angry with her refusing his invitation. Knowing her, she’d be miserable. 

“I… I guess I just…” 

Looking down, he clenched his fists harder, digging his short nails into his palms with so much force that it wouldn’t have taken much to draw blood. Frustration at his inability to give a solid answer flooded his being, and the wish to just reverse time or put Nata under a genjutsu to make her forget everything became far more prominent in his mind. 

“I just..”

Then his hands went limp, and his whole body felt numb. 

What could he say? That he was scared that, despite everyone telling him the opposite, she wasn’t into him that way? That he was worried he ruined everything, that she resented him for ignoring her feelings? Or that he was simply too embarrassed and hurt after getting his heart broken?

 _Well, can you tell me why the hell she just ran away? Instead of giving me a proper explanation and giving me the chance then and there to talk things through?_

He had spent the last few days at home, alternating between feeling sorry for himself and trying to get mad at her for not standing her ground. Yet no matter how much he tried to pin the blame on her, he absolutely couldn’t 

Ayame must have seen the conflict and emotions rage across his face, because she sighed, and her expression softened. Or rather, became less hard. 

“Look, I understand that you probably were heartbroken. I’ve been through it myself. But you can’t keep avoiding her because you feel bad. Because trust me, Nattou feels far worse. You have no idea how ashamed she was for running away like that.” 

He looked up, and in a burst of frustration, suddenly yelled out, “Then why do I have to be the first one to approach her? I just asked her to the Summit, she’s the one who ran away, she should make the first move!” 

He felt terrible, and petty, and unreasonable, but several days of not seeing her, not eating her ramen, and not hanging out with her were killing him. 

“I put in so much effort into asking her, and she just blew me off! Ran away, and now you’re telling me that _I_ have to be the one to approach her? If she feels so bad, why doesn’t she come see me?” 

Regret burned through him as soon as he saw the way Ayame’s eyes suddenly flashed bloody murder. 

“You think it’s easy for Nattou? You might not understand because you were too busy being a ninja, but Nattou has come a long way. She’s feisty, and she’s strong, and she’s resilient. But what the hell were you thinking, trying to make your first date at some place you know she’d hate?” 

“I didn’t want our first date to be at the Summit!” Naruto exclaimed in frustration. “This is all the daimyo’s fault! I have to bring a date, it’s mandatory for some goddamn, unexplained reason! And your sister was the only person I even thought of taking.” Sighing, he stuffed his hands into his pockets. “I wanted to ask her out for the festival.” 

Ayame blinked. “You wanted to ask her out to the Autumn Flame Festival?” 

“Exactly! But then this Summit came along, and I was given orders to find someone, and she was the only one on my mind.” 

“Wait, you’ve been ordered to bring a date?”

He nodded, surprised at how the anger in Ayame’s face suddenly subsided. 

“You _have_ to bring someone?”

“Yea, but I don’t want to! I had this whole plan worked out with Nata, but Kakashi-sensei got in the way! For some reason, it’s absolutely important that I bring a date, even Shikamaru’s being really weird about this. I wouldn’t have invited anyone if it weren’t an order, but since it is, and since I’ve been planning on asking Nata out, I realised how bad it would look if I asked anyone else for the Summit! You gotta believe me, Ayame-neechan, I would never try and hurt your sister, or try to force her to do anything she didn’t want to do. I’m just… I’m so confused. I don’t know how to deal with this stuff.”

Without knowing why exactly, Naruto held his breath. For some reason, this suddenly felt like an important piece of information. 

“Did you tell Nattou?” 

Naruto looked back over his invitation, a scene he replayed countiless sides throughout the past few days. 

“...Yes? I think so?” 

“You think so?” 

“I don’t know!” Naruto grabbed his hair in frustration. “I’m not sure if I made it clear or not, but does it really matter? The point is, she said no.”

Finally, a look of comprehension dawned on her, which turned worried as concern swept across her face. If anything, this confused Naruto even more. 

“She didn’t mention anything about that.” 

“She didn’t?” Naruto felt surprised. Nata was a fairly detail oriented person; she usually told her sister everything, so he had expected Ayame to have at least been aware of that little detail. 

_Not that it probably matters if I was ordered to or not._

_**Would you please let it go already? She rejected you because it’s a public event, not because she dislikes you.** _

_Never._

A couple minutes passed as the two of them stood there, on the side of the street, Naruto keeping his head down to avoid people from running up to him and asking for his autograph, Ayame looking down and thinking things over. Sweating a little, Naruto couldn’t help but feel slightly nervous. He had no idea what Ayame was going to do with that information, or what difference it made to her judgement of him. 

Eventually, Ayame came closer and placed a hand on his shoulder, looking him straight in the eyes with a very serious expression. It wasn’t the same look of anger as before; rather, the worried look from before seemed even more pronounced. 

“Naruto-kun, you _have_ to talk this through with Nattou. About being ordered to bring a date. I think I finally understood something.” 

He blinked. “You do?” 

She shook her head, briefly giving him an apologetic smile. “I can’t really say anything, but I’m sure Nata’s told you about the Hokage coming by Ichiraku more often these days. I think I’ve finally understood what he was talking about.” 

“Wh- what are you— what? Talking about what?” 

Naruto had never felt more bewildered in his life. 

She shook her head once more. “That’s something you should ask him yourself.” 

“Why? Why aren’t people telling me stuff?” 

She ignored him. “Look, fine, I get that you’re a ninja and you have to bring a date, just make sure that Nattou absolutely gets this too.” 

“Why are you being so secretive? Why is everyone being so secretive?” 

Squeezing his shoulder a bit harshly, Ayame nevertheless made her voice softer, more like the one Naruto was so familiar with. “Naruto-kun, I think I finally get where you’re coming from, but you should need to make things clear with her that this is basically just a mission for you. You need to man up.” 

“Yeah, people have been telling me to do that a lot recently,” Naruto mumbled. 

“Stop avoiding her! I don’t want to be the one to tell you this, but I’m not sure if this will get through your skull otherwise. Nattou likes you! You already know this! So please, just go make sure she understands that you feel the same way before you get yourself a fake date to this dumb Summit thing.” 

Naruto began nodding slowly. “I know, I just…” He looked at Ayame, and saw not Nata’s older sister, but his own older sister, someone who was as much of a confidante as Nata back when he was younger. “It hurt so much.” 

She sighed. “I get that. But you’re a shinobi, right? Weren’t you the one who kept going on about how shinobi endure? Are you telling me that Nattou isn’t worth as much as a mission?” 

The accusation stung. He froze, her words ringing in his head, and he felt like his blood was boiling. 

_Worth as much as a mission?_

The insinuation was more than a little insulting. Naruto grit his teeth and glared at Ayame, reading a barrage of statements to prove the contrary, that missions were nowhere near as important to him as his friends and loved ones, Nata being on top of that list. 

_”Isn’t worth as much as a mission.”_ Was that really how he was coming across as?

 _Not worth as much? She’s worth so much more._

And suddenly, Naruto finally understood just how dumb he was acting. 

_Crap. I’m such an idiot._

He slapped himself in the face with both hands, hard, surprising Ayame. He shook her head as though trying to shake water out of his hair, then he turned to Ayame with a determined grime on his face. 

“Alright, I’ll do it.” 

“You’ll talk to my sister?” 

“Yep! I’ll go sort things out with Nata, and then I’m gonna go march up to Kakashi-sensei, and tell him to throw his stupid little mission into the toilet. I don’t care if this is an order from the daimyo, I’ll do whatever it takes to go to the Autumn Flame Festival with Nata. And that’s a promise, ya know!” 

He grinned more broadly. This was going to work. 

This had to work. 

_Oh no, if Ayame-neechan was this angry at me, how badly do you think Teuchi-occhan’s gonna react to me?_

_**Best case scenario, you say goodbye to your ramen discount.** _


	12. Wishes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto wished for many things throughout his life. Currently, his wishes all surround a particular Ichiraku employee.

_**Aren’t you forgetting something? Or someone?**_

_I don’t think so?_

_**Fine, just don’t say that I didn’t warn you.**_

Naruto shook his head in exasperation at the Fox’s cryptic comments as he took to the roofs and launched himself through the air. He was spontaneous, a man of action, and after the past few days of self-pity and sitting around, the burst of adrenaline from the realisation that he desperately needed to talk to Nata felt like a splash of cold water in the morning. It was now or never for him. His heart thumped louder. His fingers became twitchy. He was going to _do_ this. 

He had left Ayame behind in his sudden rush of excitement, her calls fading in the wind and incomprehensible. But at the moment, nothing anyone said mattered. At least, aside from Nata. 

Getting to Ichiraku in under two minutes was nothing for him, even from what was essentially the other side of the village. Relatively flying through the air, he could barely hear the startled and wondrous cries from below. The admiring cheers and fanatic screaming at the sight of him all blended into the wind.

He crashed in front of his favourite place in the world, sending up a cloud of dust up straight into Teuchi’s face just as the man ducked under the restaurant banners. 

“Oh crap! Sorry ‘bout that, occhan! Didn’t see you there, ya know!” 

The man coughed and swatted at his face for a moment before turning to look up to stare blearily at Naruto. 

“Naruto? What…” His face immediately hardened, and he straightened up. “Ah, there you are! Been busy with your missions?” 

Naruto blinked. 

He blinked again. 

“Is something wrong?” Teuchi asked, leaning in curiously. 

“N-no, no, there is nothing wrong, uh, nothing at all. Nope, Not with me. Just… thinking, ya know, missions and crap going on around me.” 

_He doesn’t know._

“Ah, yes, must be stressful, what with all that pressure and everything.” Teuchi grinned, and started to walk away. 

Naruto noticed that instead of wearing his usual Ichiraku garb, he was dressed in nicer clothing. He was going out somewhere, meaning that it would just be Naruto and Nata now. 

“That Summit especially’s probably got you all busy, too, I bet?” 

Despite his innocent words and sympathetic smile, Naruto felt a slight chill run down his spine. 

“Yep, got all these etiquette and politics lectures from the Elder’s that I’ve got to attend now.” 

He hoped that Teuchi would pick up on the anxious quality of his voice. 

“Well, I’m off. It’s just Nata in there today, so have fun!” 

Naruto pulled on the collar of his jacket as he waved a shaky goodbye at the receding figure of the first person to ever accept him. 

_**At least your discount is not in jeopardy. Yet.**_

_Stop doing that, Kurama!_

The demon within him huffed.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts (and the Fox’s snide comments), he looked directly at the banners of Ichiraku. 

He took a deep breath. 

_It’s now or never._

He shut his eyes.

“Nata!” 

Bursting through the banners, he charged directly at the counter, knocking aside a stool on his way. Keeping his eyes shut, he grasped the counter and bowed his head. 

“Nata! I’m sorry I didn’t take your feelings into consideration when I asked you to the Summit! I’m sorry I didn’t come talk to you sooner! I’m sorry I chased you around for ten minutes screaming your name! I’m sorry, ya know!” 

He kept his head bowed, as he braced himself upon the counter. His grip on the wood was so tight that it began to splinter. His shoulders shook slightly from his nerves, and his lip trembled, a faint blush forming across his cheeks. Even though he only said a few sentences, he felt like he was breathing hard. His heart raced against his chest. 

He waited for her response. 

He was greeted by silence. 

_Why isn’t she saying anything?_

Panic swelled within him. He focused chakra into his ear in case Nata had reverted back to her old habit of speaking so quietly that only Kyouka from Team 8 could hear her, but there was nothing to hear. 

The shaking in his shoulders became more violent, and his knees began to knock together. Anxiety like he had barely ever experienced was trying to make him speak again, but he resisted, knowing that he should give her time to formulate a proper response. An explanation for running away, a muttered “it’s okay”, a tearful apology, even a lame inside joke. 

He waited. 

Even the most temperamental and restless hearts can be the most patient ones in the world when dealing with the one they love. 

And Naruto would forever be patient with her. 

Several long seconds passed and no reply. 

What felt like a minute passed and there was no reply. 

His whole body was shaking now. 

_Did she faint or something?_

He wanted to be dramatic and super romantic with his apology, but the absence of a reply was slowly eating him up from the inside. Sweat was dripping down his face, his palms became sticky, and his heart was pumping so loudly that he was sure Kaguya could hear it. 

He couldn’t take it. 

And the thing he had been obsessing over the past few days, the biggest of his fears even after all the reassurances made by Kurama and his friends, spilled out. 

“If you think I only asked you out because I was ordered to and you were the most convenient option,” he practically shouted, his throat dry and voice trembling, “then you’re wrong! I asked you out because…” 

_Because…_

He grit his teeth. Kurama was right. Sakura was right. What was the point? 

“I love you!” he declared. In his passion, he stood up straight dramatically throwing his head up and opening his eyes wide open, blush flaring across his face as he looked directly at Nata’s eyes. 

Or rather, where Nata’s eyes would have been. 

_Crap._

_**Crap indeed** _

He gasped for breath, his entire body shaking like a bell. It was like his chest was being constricted, and, as he stood, weak in the knees and sporting the biggest blush of his entire life, he finally took stock of the inside of the restaurant. 

Nata wasn’t there. There was no one behind the counter. 

“Y-you okay there, Naruto-no-niichan? You sort of freaked me out there, yo.”

“Konohamaru,” Naruto gasped, dropping down heavily on a stool and clutching his chest, “How… what…” He wheezed. “Where is she?” 

“Nata-no-neechan? She ran out the back when we heard you outside with her dad.” 

_**Of course she did.**_

Naruto turned his head to stare lifelessly at Konohamaru, who was sitting towards the side of the restaurant with a half-eaten bowl of ramen in front of him. Accompanying him were Moegi and Udon, both of whom were staring at him in amazement. It seemed that the three had been just watching him in shock for the entire five minutes that Naruto stood there, thinking that he was waiting for Nata’s reply. 

Naruto suddenly let out an anguished, extremely frustrated wail, grabbing his hair and pulling on it so hard he felt a few strands rip out of his skull. But he didn’t care. 

“Umm, so you and Nata-no-neechan, huh?” Moegi seemed to have picked up her jaw from the floor and was coming around to give him an awkward but sympathetic pat on the back. “I’m sure this is all a big misunderstanding.” 

And Naruto just… deflated. Hands still clutching his hair, his arms flopped down, his head dropped down, his chin to his chest, and his back lost all of its strength. 

_Damn it._

_Damn it._

_**She might have heard you, you know? If she’s still in the back, she would have heard your apology.** _

_But… if did… why hasn’t… come out?_

_**You think I understand the motives behind every one of her actions? I’ve told you, I’m the Demon Fox, not the woman whisperer.**_

“Umm, Naruto-no-niichan?” What sounded like Moegi began talking again. “Do you… want some water or something? I could — ” 

“So, you were the one yelling and running around like a lunatic a few days ago? Everyone was saying it was just a drunk fanboy.” Another vaguely familiar voice interrupted her.

“Udon!” 

“Sorry, it’s just that it’s been all over the news and everything. So Eijiro was right, the Hokage’s office _is_ trying to cover it all up.” 

“It doesn’t matter! You should still be considerate towards Naruto-no-niichan’s feelings!” 

“Considerate… feelings…” Naruto whispered. 

_**Naruto! Quickly! I sense something!** _

His head whipped up so quickly that Moegi stumbled backwards, and Konohamaru and Udon, who were leaning in to closely examine him, actually fell on their rears. 

“Nata?!” 

The white towel peeking out of the door behind the counter quickly flashed out of sight, but it was enough to revitalise him. 

_I’m not letting you go this time!_

With a sudden burst of energy, he leapt over the counter, knocking over the cup filled with chopsticks in the process, and leapt across the small kitchen to the doorway into their storage room. 

She was _there_. 

After everything that happened, he couldn’t help but freeze in place at the sight of her cowering by the opposite wall. His breath caught in his throat, and that sudden surge of adrenaline vanished. 

Her eyes, even in the darkness of the storage room, were obscured by her ridiculous goggles, and her too big head towel didn’t look as neatly tied and wrapped around her head as it usually was. Her simple work clothes were too baggy, and her lips, hands, and indeed, entire body, were trembling. Even in the dark, it was clear that her entire face was red, and she was sniffling. 

Surrounded by crates and old pots, she looked more like a terrified, cornered squirrel than an object of love. 

_She’s so beautiful._

“N...Nata…” he whispered breathlessly. 

“N-Naruto… kun.” 

Even her soft, nervous voice was like music to his ears. 

He took a shaky step forward. She gulped. He gulped. 

_I guess… she heard everything._

But for once, the Fox was silent. 

“N-Nata… I-I —” 

He took another step forward. She lowered her head. 

“Did you… hear? What I said.” 

She kept her head down, but from the way she shuffled her feet, and the way, she seemed to radiate heat, it seemed like she did. 

“Nata… I-I… I..!” 

“N-Naruto...kun…” 

“Nata.” 

“Naruto-kun” 

Somehow, his feet had carried him over to her, so that he was right up against her. He didn’t even realise until her head knocked gently against his chin. 

She finally raised her head. 

“Nata.” 

“Naruto-kun.” 

“I love you.” 

“I…” She took a deep breath. He put his hand on her cheek. Somehow, he had leaned down so that his face was right up against hers, their noses almost brushing against one another. 

“Nata?”

“I-I…. love… you...too.” 

The hand on her cheek slowly went up to her goggles. 

He took them. 

She looked straight at him, her eyes, her actual eyes on display. 

_Beautiful._

_**Naruto.** _

_Don’t ruin this moment for me Kurama._

_Naruto._

_Just let me do this._

_**Stop fantasising Naruto, Naomi just asked you a question.**_

Naruto cursed softly under his breath. 

His fantasy was ruined. 

He was now back to _wishing_ he had run after Ayame. 

It wasn’t the first time he daydreamed about a similar scenario. Wasn’t the first time he fantasised about that moment in the storage room. 

Since before the Academy, daydreaming, fantasising had become a coping method for him. It was so bad that often, during class, Iruka had to smack him in the face to bring him back to reality. 

They all said he wasn’t good at casting genjutsu. That was wrong. He was. 

But only on himself. It’s what kept him sane. 

They all said he had an active imagination. It was too active.

He stopped during his travels with Jiraiya. 

He started again after the war. 

After he met his parents. After Yamato died. And Killer Bee died. And countless others died. 

In the middle of long, boring missions, he’d zone out. He could barely listen to the Elder’s lectures. 

Constant action and ramen kept him tethered. So did Nata, with her cooking, her honesty, and her undying patience.

And over the past few days, it had gotten worse. 

“I’m so sorry, I must have blanked out, so you were saying?” 

Naomi gave him her now-clearly-signature head tilt smile. 

“Do not worry, I understand what it is like to have so many responsibilities, so many things on your mind.” She took a slow sip of her tea. “I was merely asking if you wanted more tea or not.” 

“Oh, umm, sure, thank you.” 

Naruto looked around him. Instead of taking him to some expensive tea shop for the elite, Naomi had decided on a well known but otherwise uninteresting tea shop. He was sitting opposite her and her brother, who was still gawking at him, mouth open, like he was some painting in a gallery. Naomi, on the other hand, looked at peace, serenely pouring him another cup of tea. 

He stared at her hands. _”Hands tell a story,”_ the Third Hokage had always said.

Pale, not as tan as he would have expected from someone who lived in the Land of Waves. Smooth, well groomed, nothing like Nata’s rough, cook’s hands. 

_This isn’t right._

He _had_ seen Ayame. 

He just wished he went after her instead of following Naomi. He just wished he hadn’t chickened out. 

He wished Ayame had noticed him. Had thrown him a dirty look. It would have made things a lot easier.

 _ **I must tell you, your vivid imagination has impressed me this time around. Very dramatic. Very detailed. Felt like an amateur fiction story.**_

Naruto didn’t reply. He looked up at Naomi and quietly thanked her for the tea. 

She smiled in reply.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be honest with you, I really dislike the "it was all a dream" trope, but I promise you that there will be more to this than that.


	13. Tea with Naomi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto confronts Naomi about what her father was up to while Gatou was frolicking around the Land of Waves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo! Two chapters in a row to celebrate the end of summer! 
> 
> Enjoy~

“So, uh, tell me, how’s my bridge doing?” 

He’s always loved calling it his bridge. 

Naomi smiled in reply, and was about to answer before Shigeru stepped in. 

“It’s incredible!” he exclaimed, wide eyed. “It’s so long, and it made our country so rich! It’s amazing, just like you!” 

Naruto shifted uncomfortably in his seat. 

“Uh, thanks, Shigeru.” 

Grinning broadly, the boy went back to staring at his hero. 

“All right then.” Naruto fumbled for a way to ease into his question, trying to keep his mind off of Nata. “So, your dad’s the daimyo, eh? Must be fun, having the entire country at your fingertips.” 

“You would think,” Naomi replied, sipping quietly at her tea, “but actually, it has —” 

“Yeah, it’s not that great. The Wave’s not _as_ rich as the Great Five, so our servants aren’t as well trained. Before we left, I asked for the latest Fourth Shinobi War, Uzumaki Naruto action figure, and they got me an old model instead!” 

Scratching his head and looking awkwardly at Naomi at Shigeru’s rude interruption, Naruto looked for another angle of approach. 

“Well, uh, hey, Naomi-sama, how was —”

“Oh, the great Hero of Konoha shouldn’t call anyone ‘sama’! You’re too cool for that!” 

Naruto was now openly glaring at the boy, who went back to obliviously staring at him. Naomi must have sensed the tiny spike of killer intent in the air, quickly turned to her brother and placed a gentle hand on his arm. 

“Shigeru-kun, I’m sorry, but Uzumaki-sama and I have some business to talk about, for the Summit, and I’m afraid we can’t speak about these matters in front of you.” 

“Why not?” Shigeru demanded, still not tearing his eyes off of Naruto. 

“It involves top secret government information that you’re not old enough to know.” 

“Plus!” Naruto added as Shigeru was about to open his mouth to protest. “Ya know, these are really important stuff that, uh, we need to, like, discuss. And I’m so tired from training that I might not be able to concentrate if my _favourite_ fan is sitting right in front of me. 

That immediately shut Shigeru up, and, blushing, he nodded vigorously and immediately raced out of the tea shop, accompanied by a servant, calling out his apologies all the while.

“That was certainly diplomatic, Uzumaki-sama. We usually struggle to make him obey so quickly.” 

Naomi, though her expression didn’t seem to change that much, looked slightly impressed. 

“Ah, well, it’s the name.” 

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. As annoying as it was, having fans worshiping the ground he walked on, the power he had over them did come in handy. 

“You’ll have to excuse my brother’s fanatics, it is simply that you are quite the legend back in the Land of Waves. After all, you were so young when you helped liberate our country from Gatou’s shadow. While I admire you greatly, Shigeru-kun has almost… grown up hearing stories about you.” 

Naruto couldn’t help but grin slightly. Her reasoning behind their admiration for him seemed so much more genuine than most of his fans. Just like… 

He gulped. He couldn’t afford to fall back into fantasising about Nata. 

“It was all Tazuna and his bridge,” he laughed. “Oh, and you can cut that ‘Uzumaki-sama’ crap. Just Naruto is fine.” 

“If you so wish… Naruto-san.” Naomi bowed her head slightly. 

“No, not ‘san’ either. Just Naruto.” 

“Naruto...kun.” 

He shrugged, but couldn’t help but smile slightly at her insistence at using honorifics. It reminded him of Nata when they first met.

“Alright, I can live with being called that. So, Naomi-sama, could you —- ” 

“If that’s the case,” Naomi said, settling her teacup down on the table, her smile slightly more mischievous than before, “then I expect you to return the courtesy. Simply Naomi will suffice.” 

“Alright then, _Naomi_. You said that you’re here as your dad’s representative, right? For the Summit?” 

She gave him a small nod. 

“Yes. As the daimyo’s daughter, it is my duty to assist him in any way I can. Due to our recent economic growth —” she gave him a quick smile that felt to Naruto was her equivalent of a wink “— we have been invited to the Summit as one of the twelve spectator nations. This is an excellent opportunity for my country, but unfortunately, my father went down with quite the illness recently.” 

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.” Naruto tried to sound as sympathetic as possible while still fuming inside over his anger towards the man. “Nothing serious, I hope?” 

“Oh, our physicians are very confident in a swift recovery. However, in light of our recent growth, we have been the focus of much piracy recently, which can often make travel dangerous. We had to come earlier than necessary because that, actually.” 

“Piracy?” 

At this, Naruto leaned forward, excited. Some time ago, he had been part of a mission to track down a certain pirate gang off the coast of the Land of Lightning. It had been a joint endeavour between Konoha, Kumo and Kiri, and had been some of the most fun he had ever had on what was otherwise a very serious operation. 

His daydreams for months afterwards were filled with him, his parents and Killer Bee singing sea shanties and exploring the open oceans. 

Naomi frowned slightly at his enthusiastic reaction, but it turned into an amused smile as she leaned backwards into a more relaxed position. 

“Yes, piracy. It’s quite dangerous actually, and we have called for assistance from the Hokage and Mizukage about it. How is it that you are so excited about the idea?” 

“Oh, sorry about that, I wasn’t being excited over you being robbed,” he chuckled sheepishly. “It’s just, I had a mission once where I was undercover as a pirate, and it was honestly so much fun.” 

He had met so many interesting, albeit terrible, people. And he leaned in to happily tell her so. 

“There was this man who had a sword for a hand! Not like a katana, but some western thing, super heavy, super slow.” In the back of his head, Kurama was telling him that he was sounding a bit like Shigeru at the moment, and in response, Naruto ignored him. “There was this old, really old lady who had chains instead of hair, and she could pump chakra through them and manipulate them!” 

Naomi’s eyes seemed to twinkle in curiosity as Naruto practically jumped off of his seat to demonstrate a pirate who could use chakra to turn their nose into a blade and when he waved his his arms about to demonstrate another pirate who could partially morph into a parrot, she almost looked like she was suppressing a giggle. 

He wasn’t doing it as enthusiastically or ridiculously as he would at Ichiraku, with Nata, of course. 

“And then, there was the cook, as he had this eyepatch one and always kept his head wrapped in a bloodied… scarf…” He trailed off, and his eyes grew dimmer. That pirate always reminded him of _her_. He deflated slightly, and the energy within him that manifested at the idea of pirates dissipated. 

Naomi looked a little bemused, but covered it up with a swift sip of her tea. 

“That sounds like it was a very exciting mission.” 

“Yeah,” Naruto said lethargically, “it was.” 

Then, looking up at her slightly confused expression, he shook his head and tried to plaster on his grin. He coughed awkwardly. 

“So, you say this Summit’s going to be a big opportunity for your country?” 

She looked like she noticed his very obvious attempt at changing the subject, but played along anyways. 

“Yes, despite having trade agreements with several countries, my country hasn’t participated in such a major multinational event before. At least, not since before Gatou.” 

Naruto grimaced slightly, and readied himself to ask her the question he had been meaning to ask since hearing that Waves actually had a feudal lord. 

“Besides that,” Naomi continued, “I will have the chance to interact with and potentially make allies with many very important people. In fact, I may have already started that part.” 

She gave him her little tilt-smile, and he had to admit that it looked very cute on her. 

It reminded him of how Nata used to tilt her head while cooking. 

“It seems,” he agreed. “So, tell me, cause I’ve been dying to know. How is the daimyo doing over at Waves?”

She took a longer sip and moved to have her cup refilled, looking thoughtful all the while. After a few moments, she placed a long, delicate finger on her chin and spoke in a very careful voice. 

“My father… he has a difficult relationship with the people of the Waves. There are still many calling for his deposition.” She looked down at this, and sighed. “Many still blame him for allowing Gatou to take over.” 

_Alright, I guess my interrogation skills really do work. Gotta give Homura and Koharu props for that._

“How did Gatou do it so easily, anyways?” 

Naomi didn’t answer immediately, instead inspecting simple china patterns on her cup. Naruto couldn’t help but feel a little impatient. 

“It’s just that, Waves is a fairly important place for me,” he blurted out. “And I saw how it was back when Gatou was around. I just feel like with a daimyo in place, a corporation taking over should have been a lot harder to do.” 

She sighed and looked directly at him. 

“It’s not as simple as that, Naruto-san.” 

“Naruto.” 

“Apologies, Naruto-kun.” She briefly smiled at him but dropped it, focusing instead on the cashier’s counter to the left of them. “In the past, my father’s predecessors relied on independent corporations to fuel the country’s economy. They were supposed to help manage our resources and the daimyo would get a large percentage of the money made. But eventually, our government became too relaxed and far too dependent on these corporations. Businessmen slowly began demanding more land and resources, little by little, and would make deals to reduce the percentage they owed.”

“Couldn’t the daimyo see it coming?” Naruto asked incredulously. 

She shook her head. “They saw results, and when the businesses took over more resources, they made greater profits, which meant that even while lowering the percentage owed to the government, the daimyo’s pocket still would get more money than before. There’s more, of course. They began offering more of their services while keeping more of the money. More and more of the senior court officials and ministers were replaced by representatives of the corporations.”

Naruto was about to open his mouth to yell about how absurd it was that that was allowed to slide when a sudden realisation chilled him. 

Danzo. 

Wasn’t Danzo just that? An opportunist who slowly wormed his way up in terms of authority by promising results? 

Naomi looked at him sadly. It was clear that Naruto’s realisation was playing openly across his face. 

“You see, Naruto-san? It was a gradual process. And it all made sense to the daimyo’s court at the time. Now, as for Gatou, his was the biggest corporation of them all, and began swallowing up more and more of the other ones. By the time my father became daimyo and realised how much power Gatou wielded, it was too late. He had control over what was essentially more than half of the Land of Waves’ lands and resources, and his men were crawling over the government. The daimyo had no choice but to listen to his demands.” She sighed heavily, and looked sadly at her teacup. “The last straw, I suppose, was when Gatou demanded the daimyo’s samurai army be replaced by ninja.” 

“How is that bad?” Naruto felt offended. “What, are ninja not as loyal?” He felt sweat roll down his face at the sudden, unbidden memories of all the rogue ninjas he’s faced and seen in the Bingo Book. Zabuza. Members of the Akatsuki. Sasuke. 

Despite that, his pride was somewhat hurt when she raised her eyebrow at him. “Naruto-san. You ninja can be incredibly loyal. But that loyalty usually only extends to your villages, and not all ninja are part of Hidden Villages. I am not saying about you specifically, I know that you are an incredibly honourable man, but unlike samurai, who obey their own senses of honour, most ninja only obey money. Something which Gatou had a surplus of.” 

Naruto grimaced. He could pretty much guess where the story was leading. The process made sense, but he could tell that Naomi was simplifying it. And though he had plenty of analogies and experiences to draw from, he still felt confused by this idea of economics and politics. 

_**Remember, Naruto, you’ll have to understand all this garbage if you want to become Hokage.** _

_Shut up, I know_

“I guess I still have a lot to learn in terms of business and governments,” he laughed. “I mean, I got what you were saying, but I don’t really fully understand what’s going on, really.” 

Naomi smiled sympathetically. 

“I understand, it can be very complicated and frustrating.” 

His heart constricted. She was actually… comforting him over his lack of knowledge. Making it seem better. Almost like… 

_Her._

_**Naruto, the goal of this was to distract yourself from thinking about Nata, not look for the smallest little reminders of her.**_

_Leave me alone, you big furry ball of chakra._

“So, what did your family do when Gatou took over?” he asked. 

Draining the last of her tea, she placed the empty cup in front of her and pushed in to the side. 

“We feared for our lives. My father was forced to stay behind as a puppet daimyo, but he had me, my brother and my mother escape along with some of our servants and personal samurai guards to the Land of Water. We were refugees. Of course, we were still treated as royalty, but we were nevertheless held as hostages.”

Her eyes seemed to dim slightly, and her expression became more bitter.

“Gatou sent many assassins after us. Though they were mostly unsuccessful, one of the earliest attacks cost us our mother.” 

“Oh.” _Oh_. “I’m… I’m sorry to hear about that. How old were you?”

“I was almost ten years old back then. My brother was only four. He doesn’t remember her too well, though.” She gave a bittersweet smile. “I suppose, after Gatou’s downfall at your hands and our return home, I’ve been more dedicated to assisting my father in his duties as a way of honouring her. She always opposed allowing corporations take over our country, and did her best for each of our citizens.” 

Naruto grinned at her. That was something he could understand. 

“From what you say, I think you’re doing great. And hey, I totally get you. I once had a teacher who was like a father to me. After he passed away, I started taking my duty as a shinobi more seriously, and tried to continue on his legacy of finding peace.” 

“You seem like you have done a wonderful job honouring him.” She gave him her tilt-smile. 

_Yeah, Nata’s told me that too._

An assistant hurried over from outside the tea shop to hand Naomi a small scroll, which she unfurled and read with slightly furrowed brows. She then stood and bowed to Naruto. 

“You will have to excuse me, Naruto-san. It seems that I am needed elsewhere.” She looked up at him and tilted her head, this time curiously. “I had a wonderful conversation with you. Would you like to…”

“Do it again?” 

She nodded. 

He gave her a grin. 

_She seems like a cool person. Plus, I can get to learn more about the Waves._

“Would be great.” 

She smiled once more, then left. 

_Guess I was wrong about this Waves thing._

_**When are you ever right?**_

He didn’t watch her go. He never watched anyone go. 

Except for Nata. 

Tea with Naomi _was_ interesting. And insightful. 

But it failed. He wasn’t distracted at all. 

She reminded him too much of _her._

**Days Left: 9  
Status: Sad, but made a new friend**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright-y, I'm still in the process of editing up chapter 16 of Trail of Notes (if you're reading that, if not, that's fine, but please do check it out, I personally think that at the very least it offers a rather comprehensive analysis on the characters of Naruto and HInata) where I'll properly talk about stuff, but essentially, I had blast this summer! I know there was the pandemic and a lot of unrest, but fanfic writing has gotten me through all that stress (and your comments especially, I really enjoy reading all the nice thing you have to say). So, thank 
> 
> Now I'm going to be significantly more busy from now on, so I'll have less time to write. I don't think I'll have a hiatus, necessarily, but updates for all my writing will probably slow down. Hopefully not. But probably. Then again, I write to vent, and since I'll have more crap to do, I'll have more things to vent about. So maybe it will cancel out. Who knows! Let's see shall we? 
> 
> I also made a Tumblr (since all the cool kids seem to be on it, at least in terms of fanfic authors and readers) so, if you want, here it is: [The Mysterious Crimson Lotus](https://mysterious-crimson-lotus.tumblr.com/).


	14. Emergency Mission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the Summit looming closer, Naruto gets another, emergency mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I live.
> 
> Enjoy~

The wind whistled past his ears as he flew through the air. He landed on a branch, only sparing the smallest fraction of a second in contact with it before launching from it to the next one. Like an arrow, he shot through the forest as a blur, less than, in fact.

Not fast enough, he thought as he gritted his teeth and forced more chakra to his legs. He was half tempted to summon the power of Kurama just to speed himself up but controlled himself. The Kyuubi still hadn’t recovered from exhausting his chakra during the Fourth Shinobi War, and if Kakashi was to be believed, he might have to save up as much of the Tailed Beast’s potent chakra as possible

_Damn it._

Channeling some Wind Style chakra through his body, he desperately pushed himself to greater speeds, his imagination running wild, a million bizarre scenarios running through his mind. Sasuke had turned bad again; the Akatsuki had survived; one of the Hidden Villages broke the Five Power Shinobi Union Decree and was starting their invasion. Ridiculous, of course, and with only five more days remaining before the Summit, it was unlikely that any of the countries was planning on doing anything crazy now. 

Yet what would explain Naruto’s emergency mission now? 

It had been a simple week. The elders’ lectures were getting longer and more tedious. In preparation for the Summit, even Kakashi was spending an hour each evening going over code of conduct with Naruto. And, in the four days since his lunch with Naomi, he had spent some more time with her, whether due to dragging Shigeru back to her after catching him spying on him at the training field, or bumping into her at the Hokage’s Office. Or bumping into her on the streets. 

If he didn’t know better, he’d say that someone like Shikamaru was pulling the strings from somewhere. 

Armed with a better understanding of her struggles while hiding away from Gatou, the two had gotten closer. There was certainly more to her than the rich, spoiled daimyo’s daughter he had first expected. And, after some intense pressuring from both Kakashi and Shikamaru, he had awkwardly asked if she would attend the Summit alongside him, as a show of the bond between their two countries. 

She accepted. 

And, with the date problem sorted, there was only, much larger issue left. 

He had spent the last few days avoiding his friends — all aside from Shikamaru who he physically couldn’t avoid anyways — and hiding out in his apartment. It had officially become close to ten days since the last time he had eaten at Ramen Ichiraku, the longest he had ever spent away from his favourite place in the world while still in the village, and worse yet, it had been around eight days since he last saw Nata. 

Frankly, he was going insane. 

When he wasn’t getting lectured by the village administration or releasing stress about the Nata issue at the training grounds, he was at home, daydreaming. Imagining scenarios where Nata hadn’t said no, had happily agreed and was now considering what to wear. Or scenarios when he had gathered the courage to go and approach her, back before Kakashi had almost threatened Naruto to ask out Naomi. Or even after, in order to explain the situation with the daimyo’s daughter. He found himself imagining those scenarios beyond his home as well; the other day, had to physically shake him to reality when he lost himself in the middle of a lecture. 

This morning, he had had enough of it. 

This morning, he had gathered up the courage to face her. 

This morning, he had walked up to Ichiraku, saw her face behind the counter from a distance, her smile tired and weak as she served customers as usual, before he was ambushed by Anbu announcing that Kakashi was calling for him. 

_Damn it._

_Damn it!_

At the time, he had been overcome with the strongest urge to just disregard Kakashi’s summons. Even from a distance, he could tell just how fake that smile of hers was, how it wasn’t lit by the soft glow of her enthusiasm and love of seeing the enjoyment of her customers, but by the flickering, harsh fluorescent lighting of someone forcing themselves to keep going. 

Seeing that, having to leave without running over and soothing all of her problems like he always used to… was agony. 

But the life of a shinobi was not an easy one. 

Which is why now, he was racing through the forest at unhuman speeds, desperately trying to reach his object, as both the urgency of the mission and the frustration of this morning burned a flame within him hot enough to power the entire Land of Fire. 

Because, as he was turning away to reluctantly follow the Anbu to Kakashi, he thought he saw a shift in her behaviour. A shift in her fakes smile. A sublte expression of surprise. Almost as though…. 

As though she spotted him. 

Anger at the worst timing in history surged through him, snapping at him like an alligator as he unconsciously slipped into Sage mode to go faster. 

He was overwhelmed by the chakra that washed over him when he did so. 

There had been a massive burst of chakra detected some distance away from the site of the Summit. Kakashi had immediately sent a team to investigate, then, when the sensory ninja in Konoha reported the source of chakra to be emitting a type of chakra only seen once before, he decided to send Naruto in as backup as well. With genuine fear in his eyes.

_Keep your guard up, Kurama._

_**Heh, no need to tell me that. It’s you that we should worry about.** _

_Don’t worry, I’ll be fine._

_**Somehow, I am not too confident in that.** _

One last push, one last spike of energy in the legs, and he leapt out of the forest and into a rather large field surrounded by hills. His Sage mode was telling him that this was the place. 

As did the giant black sphere floating in the middle of the field. 

The sky was clear, a brilliant light blue with only the merest traces of clouds. The sun was high up, marking noon, and was shining its brightness down upon the ground, sending hazy waves of heat rolling through the grass, reflecting off of the crystal clear, brilliantly blue lake at the edge of the forest and to the immediately left of where Naruto emerged. 

It was looking like an unusually hot day for September, but nothing out of the ordinary. 

Except… Naruto didn’t feel hot at all. Despite the glare of the sun, or the heat haze over the grass, Naruto felt extremely… cold. Like he had passed through a wall of some immense, demonic chill when he broke into the field. As though the black sphere was a hole in space sucking in all the warmth from the air.

What was odder was the chakra it was emitting. Colder than the air, it felt powerful. Inhuman. Its signature more reminiscent of a Tailed Beast, but not exactly. 

It was chakra he had felt before. 

“Ootsutsuki,” he growled, and Kurama grunted in agreement. 

Weaker than Kaguya’s or the Sage of Six Paths’, it nevertheless had an alien quality to it. The feel of an entirely different species. Naruto clenched his fists tightly, his nails digging into his skin and almost drawing blood. He could feel Kurama tense up inside of him., gearing up to unleash all of his chakra if he had to. 

Four weeks of nonstop combat had gotten to the Kyuubi. Four weeks of constantly sharing his chakra with the Alliance, four weeks of fighting against Madara’s army, then the Jyuubi, then against Obito and Madara and Kaguya and Sasuke… Even in the two years since the war, the beast was still recovering his chakra. If this was going to be a fight against an Ootsutsuki, then they would need to knock their opponent down before the fight went on for too long. 

_**Naruto, I know that you’ve been suffering from girl problems, but you’ll need to focus completely on this.** _

_Shut up,_ Naruto replied, his eyes trained on the sphere as he slowly made his way across the field, ready to evade any sudden attack that came his way. 

It was completely black, and completely spherical. Large, possibly the size of a small house, it was glowing gently with dark purple light. Looking at it reminded Naruto of the Truth Seeking Orbs. 

Getting nearer, he used Sage mode to frantically search for the chakra signatures of the shinobi Kakashi had sent to investigate, hoping against hope that they were still alive even as he was forced to extend his search far beyond the field. 

That is, until he got close enough to smell the stench. 

Immediately, he grimaced, and he cursed under his breath as he quickly looked down and noticed the bodies of the men Kakashi had sent in, sprawled around under the sphere’s nearly impenetrable shadow. What had blended into the darkness beneath the unidentified floating object were in fact the burned and blacked bodies of a dozen capable jounin when seen from up close.They were completely charred.

“What the hell—” he managed to say before his Sage mode enhanced reflexes kicked in and he flicked away, landing fifteen meters away in his Frog Kata form. Gritting his teeth and charging his chakra within his core, he quickly created several shadow clones to support him from behind as he glared up into the rectangular hole that suddenly appeared in the sphere. 

A soft, light bluish light poured through it, and the form of a tall man floated out of it. 

The Ootsutsuki. 

The hole sealed up behind the floating form, and as the light was cut off and the Ootsutsuki floated out towards Naruto, he could see the man’s pale skin, his rich, solid white kimono, and his pale blue hair. 

His eyes were shut. 

“Your chakra,” the Ootsutsuki called out, and his voice was pleasant, friendly in the way a neighbour would call out while going out to get the morning’s newspaper, “it is familiar. You possess his chakra.” He smiled, and even under the sun’s light, his handsome features shined with a radiance of its own. 

“Who are you, and what are you doing on Earth?” Naruto demanded, inching away as he made his clones spread out to encircle the man.

“I can tell,” the man continued, completely ignoring Naruto, “that you are a descendent of Hagoromo. Good, perhaps you’ll be of more use than those commons.” 

Fury flared within Naruto at the Ootsutsuki’s casual remark about the dead ninja. He channeled his chakra into his arms, ready to fling half a dozen Rasenshurikens at him at the first opportunity. 

“I’ve been looking for someone, someone that you, with your chakra, might be familiar with. I have been having difficulty detecting their chakra, you see,” the Ootsutsuki continued. 

“I’ll ask you again, who the hell are you, and who are you looking for?” 

“Oh, did I not introduce myself? How very rude of me.” The man floated downward, closer to the ground yet still not touching the grass, and inclined his head.

_**Get ready, I have a feeling things are about to get ugly.** _

“I am Ootsutsuki Toneri, Prince of the Moon. Now tell me, descendant of Hagoromo, where can I find the Byakugan Princess?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did y'all think? Excited? Annoyed? Still angry over my "t'was all a dream!" twist? 
> 
> This chapter is slightly shorter than what I usually write, but hopefully it was of the usual standard (whatever my usual standard is), or maybe better? Haven't had the chance to do much creative writing lately, it's all essays and analyses and lab reports, and as much as I love writing those, it just ain't the same bro.


	15. Naruto vs Ootsutsuki, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto engages the mysterious new figure in combat. Things don't exactly go as planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will be a more action packed chapter, mostly because I want to practice my action writing. Don't worry, the fluff and romance is coming soon. Oh, it's coming very soon. But not this chapter.
> 
> Enjoy~

_The what?_

“What the hell is a Byakugan Princess?” Naruto demanded. 

Ootsutsuki Toneri, his eyes still closed, floated closer, not even paying attention to the fact that he was now completely surrounded by a ring of clones. 

“Why, the daughter of the Hyuuga main family, of course,” he replied, his tone still as smooth and pleasant as ever. 

Bewildered, Naruto dropped his stance slightly. Daughter of the Hyuuga main family? As far as he was aware, the clan head Hizashi had no daughters. There was his niece, Hanabi, but Naruto was confident that she was from the branch family. 

“The hell are you talking?” Naruto growled. “Is this about Neji? I mean, I get that his hair’s pretty long, but he’s far from a princess.” 

Toneri’s smile dropped. He sighed, before floating higher up and speaking down at Naruto. 

“Very well. If you won’t tell me, then I will simply have to force the answer out of you.”

“You won’t be doing any of that!’ one of Naruto’s clones roared as he and a couple others lunged straight at the floating figure, accelerated by the power of Sage mode. In the blink of an eye, the three clones disappeared from the grass, flying mere centimeters away from Toneri as one threw a punch, one kicked, and the last one performed a Frog Strike. 

“He vanished!” a clone on the ground called out as the three attacking clones exploded into a cloud of smoke, having attacked each other. 

“The sphere!” another clone yelled as the Naruto’s still in their circle formation turned their head to see the black sphere glow a sinister violet, only for the energy to then change to a solid turquoise, consuming the sphere in its vibrant colour before a hundred smaller orbs burst out of it, flying in all directions before forming a giant spike of spiraling orbs. 

“Scatter!” 

The spike arced through the air before slamming down in the middle of the clone circle, where the orbs dispersed, firing directly at the clones at high speeds impossible for anyone without either Sage mode or a Lightning Chakra Cloak to dodge. Even then, a couple clones were a fraction of a second too slow, and were immediately rendered to clouds of smoke as the turquoise orbs cut straight through them. 

_**The orbs are probably being controlled externally by the Ootsutski!**_ Kurama growled as the real Naruto leapt and spun in midair to dodge three orbs that rocketed his way. 

_Right! We get him, and the orbs stop!_

“Get Toneri! He’s probably in the sphere!” he roared at his clones as the air became thick with orbs and destructive chakra. He used his Frog Strike to swat away a couple of the orbs, and they exploded with bright green chakra upon contact with the poten senjutsu. 

“Right!” came the reply as his remaining five clones charged at the main sphere, dodging and using Frog Kata to knock aside the orbs, all of which also exploded on impact.

The real Naruto was about to follow them, only for the hairs to stand on the back of his neck as he sensed an attack from behind. He leaned forward, and what looked like a ninja garbed from head to toe in brown lunged over him. He got back in his stance, and whirled around to block strikes from two more ninjas identical to the previous one. 

_The hell? Did they… were they sealed inside of the orbs?_

Naruto kicked the three ninjas aside with ease, and discovered that with each senjutsu enhanced strike, the ninjas shattered into wood splinters. 

Puppets. They were puppets.

He turned back towards the main sphere and found his clones, four of them now, doing battle with two dozen puppets as the orbs kept bouncing around, threatening to knock the clones’ out of existence. 

_Let’s see if this will work! I’ve been itching to test this out in combat anyways._

He formed another clone, which jumped backward in the air, weaving hand seals as it went while the real Naruto weaved a few hand seals of his own. 

“Sage Art, Fire Style: Scorching Heat Wave Jutsu!” 

Kakashi had insisted that the future Hokage know at least a few Fire Style jutsus; the result was that, upon forming the last seal, Tiger, the air around the real Naruto’s body shimmered with heat, then suddenly became a circle of fire which then formed a spiraling tornado around him before breaking open to form a wall of flame in front of him. 

Naruto lowered the Tiger seal so that his index fingers were pointing at the wall, and it exploded forward, expanding as it flew towards the sphere and the chaos in front of it. 

At the same time, the clone in the air completed his own seal sequence with the Bird seal, and the air in front of him bulleted forward, forming ribbons of razor sharp wind.

“Sage Art, Wind Style: Slicing Tongues Jutsu!” he declared before vanishing in a cloud of smoke.

The Wind Style jutsu hit the back of the Fire Style one, propelling it and fusing with it to form several flaming blades. The puppets engaging the clones by the sphere tried evading, but Naruto’s clones were quicker, restraining them as the blades of scorching wind cut straight through them. Puppets and clones alike were cut straight down, exploding into smoke and burning splinters under the cover of blinding green light as the flaming blades cut through the orbs as well. 

_Well, that was anticlimactic._

_**Don’t be a fool! Stay sharp, even if that attack probably should have taken the puppets inside of the orbs down as well, there might be more to come!** _

And indeed, as the smoke and light faded away from in front of the main sphere, Naruto saw, to his great relief, that there wasn’t a single orb or puppet left. 

To his utter horror, he saw three figures standing in the wreckage instead.

Three unfamiliar, completely unharmed figures, shrouded by pale blue light as another rectangular hole in the sphere reformed behind them, dressed in simple white robes and wearing helmets adorned with horns on their heads. 

Three, very dangerous looking figures, each with weapons made of pure crimson energy, Byakugans activated. 

_Holy shit._

_**There’re more Ootsutsukis here?** _

“Meet my clanmates,” a pleasant voice rang from above. Naruto glared upwards, squinting against the sun, and saw Toneri, floating high in the sky. “If you won’t willingly give up the location of the Byakugan Princess, then maybe my warriors can force you to.” 

In a flash, one of the Ootsutsuki henchmen had disappeared from her spot in front of the sphere, leaving behind a small crater and a massive gust of wind as she reappeared to the right of Naruto, swinging an enormous axe of crimson chakra, humming with power, in an arc straight at his head. Naruto barely managed to dodge, bending at the knees as he dropped down close to the ground and performed a Frog Strike uppercut. The warrior dodged, and, to Naruto’s utter horror, dodged the Natural Energy phantom strike as well. 

“How the fu—” 

He winced as he was forced to roll in midair before performing a somersault to evade the hammer of another Ootsutsuki warrior. As the ground shattered under the power of the hammer, he landed on a flying chunk of rock, dodging the axe of the first warrior as he launched a Rasengan at the second warrior, who had jumped up to intercept him and blocked the Rasengan with his hammer. The ball of chakra exploded against the energy weapon, momentarily disrupting it and sending the warrior back towards the ground as naruto was flung back, flipping over the axe of the other warrior and grabbing onto the horns of her helmet. 

Or, at least, trying to grab the horns. 

Somehow, the warrior shifted her head just in time for Naruto to miss the horns, cutting his left forearm on one of the horns instead. 

_Damn Byakugan!_

He tried kicking off the large warrior’s back, only to be evaded once more, and Naruto formed several sacrificial clones to use as a wall and springboard in order to get back to solid earth. As he landed, he just barely caught a glimpse of a red arc of electricity as it cut through his clones before he was dodging and parrying the dancing twin sabers of the third warrior. He sent several Frog Strikes at her, only for her to dodge both the physical and chakra attacks. 

_Can the Byakugan freaking see Naruto Energy?_

_**Don’t panic, Naruto! From the looks of it, the Ootsutsukis are nothing more than glorified Hyuuga! Faster, stronger, more resilient, but nothing you can’t take down. You have this!** _

Forming several more clones as the other two warriors joined in the fray, he struggled as he danced with them, lightly dodging and striking, coordinating with his clones while the Ootsutsukis did their best to either cut or smash him to bits. He concentrated on the twin saber wielding warrior first, and formed a Rasengan in each hand to block her attacks as his clones covered his back against the other two. There was little possibility for trickery involving clones when it came to the Byakugan, he knew that, but there were more ways to catch someone by surprise, even one with 360 degree vision. 

“Sage Art!” he screamed as he lunged towards her, “Rasen-bomb!” 

He slammed the two Rasengans together, and saw the look of surprise on the warrior’s face, the slight widening on her Byakugan eyes, before the collision of the two chakra balls exploded in her face. The entire field quaked as the huge blast of chakra knocked Naruto backwards, only to be caught and spun to a standing position by one of his clones. He could still feel the chakra of the warrior, albeit more faintly now, and, not willing to take any chances, he kicked out at the axe-wielding Ootsutsuki, who dodged a clone and was about to chop his head off, before flipping backward and channeling chakra to his hand. 

“Rasenshuriken!” 

Without sparing a look backwards, he rushed back into the fray, this time at the hammer-wielder, and engaged him with a coordinated sequence of Frog Kata alongside three of his clones while the rest kept the axe-wielder busy. He didn’t need to check if the Rasenshurken worked or not. 

He couldn’t sense the chakra of the saber-wielding anymore. She was now completely disintegrated. 

Maneuvering his second target into place was difficult. With his Byakugan, the warrior saw through their coordinated attacks, and intercepted their combos easily. What made matters worse was that he seemed to be targeting Naruto’s real body specifically. 

“Your clones might be good enough that even my Byakugan can’t discern the difference,” she declared as she dogged a strike, “but I’ve been keeping track of the bodies. I know which one you are.”

Naruto grinned. 

With a nod at his clones, he flipped over the warrior while they went for the warrior’s hammer. He grunted, then dispelled two of them with a single swing, before spinning around to strike at Naruto’s real body. 

Bang. 

_**I’m glad to see your Clone Substitution technique works, Naruto.**_

The look of triumph on the warrior’s face very quickly turned to horror as, instead of blood and broken bones, the body he had slammed with the hammer turned into smoke. Her Byakugan only just managed to pick up on what happened as the real Naruto leapt forward from where, moments before, stood a mere clone, and he reached out with his hand, going straight for the back of her head.

To his credit, the warrior did manage to raise his free hand just in time to knock Naruto’s hand out of the way of his head. Unfortunately, that didn’t stop the Rasenshuriken from forming and cutting straight through the top of his head.

Kicking the now incapacitated body away, Naruto threw the Rasenshuriken after it, disintegrating it as well. He pulled back, and, as Sage mode slowly faded away, grunted in pain as he examined the several gashes that were littered across his arms from his fight with the saber-warrior, and tenderly touched the wrist that he was sure the hammer-wielder had broken. 

Still, he only had the axe-wielder and Toneri left, and he still had conserved all of Kurama’s chakra.

“Two down, one to go,” Naruto panted as he turned to face the equally exhausted looking axe-wielder, who was standing alone, surrounded by smoke. 

Naruto smirked at her.

Then, coughing, he fell to the ground. 

He struggled to keep his eyes on the last Ootsutsuki as tremors began to violently rock across his body, and as he pulled away his hand from his mouth, he noticed that the dampness that had collected on his palm was not spit. 

The panting axe-wielder smiled smugly at him as Naruto scowled at the blood he had coughed up. 

“You’ll find that the chakra we use for our weapons do more than simply ‘turning solid’,” the warrior rasped. 

_Kurama, is this chakra, like, poison or something?_

_**Looks like it.**_ Kurama did not sound pleased at all. _**For chakra this destructive to have entered your system without me noticing, or Sage mode stopping it… Be careful, Naruto. These Ootsutsukis… they’re not to be underestimated. I think you should stop worrying about conserving my strength, and get rid of them before they do something else to mess with you.**_

_Roger that._

Stifling his coughing, he watched apprehensively on all fours as the last of the warriors readied her battle axe. 

“Lord Toneri?” the warrior asked. 

“Patience, my friend, we have the man on his hands and knees and ready to die at any moment anyways,” the floating form of the prince said lazily as he floated downwards from his spot in the sky, and leaned forward to look at Naruto’s shaking form.”Now, Hagaromo’s descendent, before you succumb to our poison, let me ask again. Where can I find the descendent of Hamura?”

“Hamura?” Confusion swept through Naruto as he struggled to his knees, coughing all the while. “Isn’t that the brother of the Sage of Six Paths? Weren’t you looking for this… Byakugan Princess thing?” 

Toneir raised an eyebrow, and looked rather surprised himself, though it was hard to tell properly, seeing as though his eyes were still closed. 

“He’s… telling the truth, my lord,” the axe-wielding warrior announced, her Byakugan trained on Naruto.

“So… you really don’t know, do you?” Toneri sighed in disappointment. “Very well, then, let’s try a different approach.” He floated even closer until he landed on the grass in front of Naruto, and leaned in closer to the jinchuuriki’s coughing body. “Tell me, where can I find….

“Hyuuga Hinata.”

A dramatic silence followed his question. The warrior stared at Naruto intently with her Byakugan, and Toneri stood there patiently, awaiting his answer. 

Naruto coughed, spraying the grass with his blood. Then he looked up slowly at Toneri, staring at him blankly with a look of utter confusion.

“Who the hell is that?” 

“He tells the truth again, Lord Toneri,” the warrior confirms. 

Now, Toneri definitely looked disappointed. 

“Is there nothing that you do know? Nothing that could aid us?” 

“Yeah, actually, I think I do have something to say about the Hyuugas,” Naruto growled. 

And then, he spat blood straight at Toneri’s face. 

“Stay the hell away from them.” 

“Insolent little…!” Toneri recoiled, flying high into the air, and suddenly, with a flash of red and a blast of wind, the last warrior was there in his place, swinging her axe straight at Naruto’s head. 

And her Byakugan eyes widened as the motion of her axe was completely stopped. There was a hum of energy coming from the point at which the chakra axe was struggling against a massive hand of orange chakra right above Naruto’s head. The hand flexed, glowed with power, and suddenly the axe shattered, the shards of energy dissipating as the warrior flew back warrily, eyeing him carefully, examining him closely with her Byakugan. 

“Sorry, but I don’t feel like dying just yet,” Naruto gasped out, grinning, as a powerful cloak of orange chakra completely engulfed him. His eyes became orange slits, and his whiskers were covered in wide, black bars. 

Now, he was going to get serious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So next chapter will also be action filled, but have no fear, the romance that I promised is coming. This will all be worth it, trust me. 
> 
> Hopefully.
> 
> Anyone reading the Boruto manga?


	16. Naruto vs Ootsutsuki, Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing action is hard. Hopefully this turned out okay. 
> 
> Enjoy~

“Kakashi-sama!” 

A member of the Konoha Sensory Team burst through the Hokage’s door, panting and looking worried as Kakashi and Shizune looked up from their paperwork. The ninja swallowed, before nervously continuing, his voice shaky, sweat dripping down his cheek. 

“Naruto’s chakra, sir! We can sense it going haywire, even from here! He’s entered Kyuubi Mode and is engaging with two new chakra signatures, both incredibly powerful! ” 

“What?” the Hokage exclaimed, slight panic evident in his voice. 

“Naruto’s chakra, even from here, we can sense that it is fluctuating badly. It seems… it seems too weak! There’s something about it…. Something’s wrong sir!”

Kakashi’s eyes widened. He stood up abruptly, the calm demeanour that he had developed over the years taking over the panic that had seized him at that announcement. The area they had sent Naruto to was quite far away. The fact that distinct chakra signatures could be felt even over that distance instead of just a blob was a bad sign, and Naruto entering Kurama Chakra Mode considering that the Kyuubi was still recovering from the massive drain on his chakra during the war… 

“Gather every available elite jounin and send them over to Naruto’s location, immediately!” Kakashi ordered, his voice clear and sharp. “I want the Suicide Corps and our best Anbu strike team there! And secure the village, close it down and execute Protocol 8.”

If Naruto’s chakra signature was unstable from engaging in combat with these new chakra signatures… 

“Shizune!” 

“Yes, Hokage-sama!” 

Dismissing the Sensory ninja, Kakashi went to follow him out of the office, but stopped to look at Shizune before moving out. 

“Call _him_.” 

Shizune paled, but nodded. Sparing her a quick smile, Kakashi made his way down to the Hokage Estate’s Emergency Room in order to better lead his forces. His heart raced slightly, and he couldn’t help the way his mouth had gone suddenly dry. 

If Naruto’s chakra seemed to be going haywire, if there were two such powerful and distinct chakra signatures there with him… 

They were going to need backup. 

_Sasuke, you better put that Teleportation Jutsu of your to good use…Great._

He unleashed the full force of his Frog-Fox Kata upon her in a burst of strength, just barely managing to keep up with her speed, surprising her with a couple clones that he formed while punching out at her. The three of them did their best; one clone struck her across the jaw, causing her red chakra aura to flicker momentarily, while the other created a massive gash across her left shoulder with a Wind Style jutsu before both were destroyed. 

He was gradually slowing her down. The weapons changed from a second slower. The aura seemed to be absorbing his strikes less effectively. Each hit that he landed seemed to rattle her harder, and each of her hits was increasingly weaker. 

It was not enough. 

He felt like he was dying, and even with his enormous chakra mixed in with Kurama’s own, the fatigue was getting to him with every hammer dogged, every mace danced around, and every axe blocked with Rasengans. 

_**This is really bad. My chakra can’t seem to fight it off. Whatever their weapons are laced with… you’ll need to end this fight quickly and get back to the village. Otherwise, I have no idea how long I can keep this poison from reaching your heart and killing you.** _

_Fan-fucking-tastic._

_**Cheer up, at least you won’t have to go to the Summit if you’re dead.** _

_Does Konoha have a motivational speaker team? Cause you’d be an excellent addition to it, Whiskers. Big Ball Rasengan!_

With a powerful kick to her leg and a chakra arm slamming into her back, he managed to unbalance her footing long enough to form his jutsu and aim it at her head. It shaved through the red chakra shield that the warrior hastily threw up, the force blasting her back as Naruto charged in, forming several clones even as his chakra arms threw a Rasenshuriken at the warrior, who deflected it with a chakra charged gust of wind from a powerful swing from the hammer that she conjured using her red chakra. 

“You’re done for!” Naruto yelled as he formed yet another Rasengan, jumping in with his clones before doubling over and collapsing as pain abruptly exploded in his chest, and coughing paralysed him, forcing him to drop to the ground. 

_Fuck!_

With a burst of power, the warrior dispelled all but one clone, who managed to sneak past her guard and knock her back down with a powerful chakra laced punch before dispelling from a coughing fit. 

“Interesting,” came the floating prince’s comment from high above where Naruto was coughing up blood. “You’re doing far better fighting off our chakra virus than I would have expected for a dirty human.” 

_Dirty human? Why that—!_

“Thirty-seven!” Toneri called out to the henchman, who was slowly getting back to her feet. “Hurry up and end the descendent of Hagoromo. His disgusting chakra…it repulses me. I don’t think I can stand the idea that such filthy chakra is wandering around so close to our home.” 

“Yes, my liege,” the warrior replied, wheezing slightly as the hammer in her hand reformed to make a battle axe. 

“That’s not very nice,” Naruto yelled indignantly, before frowning. “Wait, your name is Thirty-seven? Wow, and I thought the Kumo ninja had it bad, just being named after letters of the alphabet. You, know I’m pretty sure—” 

He shuddered as the coughing resumed, and he nearly fell upon his face as he clutched his chest, his lungs burning and his heart pounding. Despite the cloak of chakra around him, sweat began to pour as pain erupted from several points in his body. Looking down, he noticed that the cuts he had sustained so far during his short battle with the Ootsutsuki warrior had not healed at all, but had turned a nasty purple that was showing even through Kurama’s flaming chakra. 

“This is the end!” 

Thirty-seven charged forward, moving from her previous position over to Naruto in a blur of red energy, and swung her axe down at Naruto’s head. 

_**Naruto!** _

The ground erupted in an explosion of red electricity and dirt as Naruto barely avoided the strike while still coughing, and quickly ducked to avoid the hammer that Thirty-seven quickly formed in her left hand. Jumping backwards, he channeled as much chakra as he could to numb the pain, and crossed his fingers. 

“Shadow clone jutsu!” 

Ten Naruto charged at Thirty-seven, battling her as Naruto moved, not at her, but at Toneri. The warrior was quick. Taking advantage of the clones’ weakened state, she managed to move around their attacks and knock a few out before throwing a red chakra spear directly at Naruto with such force that Naruto wasn’t sure that he could dodge it with the immense pain in his chest. 

Poof!

The Naruto in the way of the spear exploded, and, his Clone Substitution Jutsu successful, the real Naruto took its previous place immediately behind Thirty-seven.

Thirty-seven reacted just a millisecond too slow. The Rasengan slammed into her back with so much force that she went flying across the field and into the lake, the red aura surrounding her dissipating as she slammed into the water. 

Panting, Naruto fell to his knees, coughing violently as he clawed at his chest. It felt as though the foreign chakra invading his body had turned into some sort of creature that was now calling his lungs its home, growing and eating his insides. 

He glared up at Toneri, who was still floating in the air, his eyes still closed, an expression of disgust on his pale face. The water that had exploded from Thirty-seven impact on the lake rained down on the field, yet somehow just missed Toneri while soaking Naruto. 

Even though the water droplets instantly evaporated upon impact with his chakra cloak, Naruto felt chills run through his body. The heat of pain that had originally burned through him was now replaced with the sensation that he was freezing. 

Shivering, he wiped the blood off of his lips and got to his feet, unsteadily. 

“You… you’re next,” he wheezed, looking up at Toneri. 

Pounding on his chest, he ran in, his chakra flared, and several chakra arms shot out of his cloak directly at Toneri. 

Toneri smirked. 

_Fuck!_

Naruto jumped backwards, firing off a Wind Style: Slashing Winds Pulse at the several orbs that, at hyper speeds, seemed to melt out of the Sphere behind Toneri and slam into the chakra arms before they could grab Toneri, causing the entire arms to dissipate. The orbs were now flying directly for Naruto, his Wind Style jutsu doing little more than slowing down their progress as they barrelled towards their coughing target. 

_**This isn’t good, Naruto! It’s taking all that I can to keep you alive and going. Our chakra cloak might give out soon unless we get Toneri and force him for an antidote or something.**_

Coughing in response, Naruto sent out two more chakra arms, these ones far more solid than the previous ones, to catch and redirect two of the orbs into each other. 

It worked. The chakra arms lasted long enough to push two orbs to collide with each other. 

_They fucking merged?_

Cursing under his breath, Naruto knocked the merged orb back with a particularly dense Rasengan. He cringed at the ringing sound that resulted from the collision, before dodging the other four orbs that were still flying around. Forming another Rasengan, he began knocking back the orbs, feeling himself grow dizzy as the, with each clash, the consequent noise seemed to rattle his skull. His vision was growing slightly blurry, and a massive headache was seriously messing with his concentration. 

Grunting, he willed his body to cooperate with him as he managed to put more chakra into his Rasengans and slammed it against two of Toneri’s orb, shattering them in an explosion of chakra. He jumped over two more of the orbs and shattered them as well, before using some chakra arms to force the last three orbs together, forcing them to merge before catching the combined orb between his two Rasengans. 

The subsequent explosion blasted him backwards, knocking the air out of his lungs and almost rendering him unconscious.

The world seemed to spin, and the piercing pain in his lungs didn’t seem to give him any clarity. Darkness seemed to grow around him as he felt the dark, sinister chakra grow thick within his system, flooding and overpowering his own, resisting and fighting against Kurama. 

_Parasitic… Absorbing… Kurama’s chakra…_

_**Naruto! You better stay conscious, or we’re dead! You hear me? Stay awake!**_

It hurt to breathe. Kurama’s chakra seemed to do nothing as the pain spread from his chest throughout his upper body. It felt like his entire body was going numb. 

“You put on an excellent performance, descendent of Hagoromo.” 

The voice seemed so distant. 

He was so tired. 

“I will admit, as foul as your chakra may be, you managed to suppress the purifying affects of my father’s chakra virus so well. You truly are worthy of your bloodline. 

“Why…” Naruto struggled, forcing himself with all of his might to keep himself awake, separating his own chakra from Kurama’s in an attempt to slow down the virus. The chakra cloak dissipated. “Why are… you here…The Hyuuga… Why do you…” 

Toneri’s voice seemed so quiet, so unclear. As though Naruto was hearing him from underwater. 

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m here to collect my bride.” 

“B… bride?” 

_**Good, keep him talking. But don’t fall asleep!** _

“Why… Hyuuga?”

A soft chuckling voice came from somewhere, and Toneri’s amused voice seemed to slither into his ear like a snake. 

“You wouldn’t understand.”

“Try… me…” Naruto wheezed. 

Toneri chuckled again. 

“Oh, I think that the politics of the Shinobi of the Moon might be a tad too complex for you, foul one.”

_Shinobi… of the Moon?_

“Yes,” Toneri said softly as though he could read Naruto’s thoughts. “For you humans, it’s all about Hagoromo, the fabled Sage of Six Paths. On Earth, the Great Sacrifice of Ootsutsuki Hamura is all but forgotten.”

Toneri’s voice, though still distant, seemed to grow slightly closer, as though Toneri himself was physically nearer. 

“You know, I might have spared you, descendent of Hagoromo. Had you just given up my Byakugan Princess’... But no matter. What you don’t know, you don’t know. Now, how about you just go to sleep and—”

Toneri gasped as Naruto eyelids suddenly turned orange. Naruto’s chakra flared as he recombined his Natural Energy enhanced chakra with Kurama’s, and his Sage enhanced Kyuubi cloak burned around him once more. 

“How about you go to sleep!” Naruto roared as he lunged at the Ootsutsuki Prince, the mist that had consumed his mind dissipating as Naruto finally saw Toneri with clarity. 

He had exhausted his Sage Mode earlier, and the introduction of the chakra virus had prevented him and Kurama from gathering Natural Energy. However, while lying still on the ground after separating his and Kurama’s chakra, he had managed to gather just enough to momentarily keep the chakra virus at bay. 

_It’s not a lot, but it should be enough for one last attack._

Toneri, who had landed on the ground to gloat, grunted as he flew backward. He tried to make some sort of gesture, the same gesture he had made earlier to create those orbs and to activate Thirty-seven’s rage mode, but Naruto was too quick. 

“Sealing: Nine-Tailed Shell Seal!” 

Nine chakra tails erupted from his cloak, surging out and slamming into the ground around Naruto before bursting back out around Toneri, twisting around to form a spiral around him as the chakra thickened. The diameter of the spiralling tails grew smaller and smaller as, like a flower, it encased Toneri completely in a shell of orange chakra. 

“I’m gonna take you into questioning!” Naruto roared. 

_I might be able to hold out long enough to get back to Konoha, where Sakura-chan will be able to heal me. I just need to catch this guy for interrogating!_

Quickly grabbing at a pouch at his belt, he pulled out a small scroll that, with a quick release seal fromm his left hand (his right hand busy doing the same seal to maintain his sealing jutsu), the scroll suddenly turned massive, around the same size as his Myoboku Toad Contract scroll. 

“Say hello to your new home!” 

He threw the scroll down and kicked it towards Toneri. It unfurled as it rolled towards Toneri, revealing complex formulae. 

Naruto slammed his palms together, and the orange shell glowed and crackled with energy, weak tendrils of chakra slowly forming out of it and snaking through the air and into the scroll. Where the tendrils touched the parchment, the jutsu formula glowed orange, and the Uzumaki swirl in at the centre of the scroll began to spin as the ink widened and formed a solid, black hole. 

_Now we’ll just have to wait for Ibiki to get out what this poser wants with this… Hyuuga Hi… whatever her name is!_

The shell grew smaller and tighter around Toneri as the tip began to extend, forming a tendril far thicker and solid than the little wisps of chakra forming out of the rest of the shell. It began to stretch towards the black hole, and the shell began to move with it, stretching as it bent to get into the scroll, Toneri trapped inside. 

_Just a bit more…!_

The memories of his clones slammed into at the same time as the coughing fit. Doubling over as blood seemed to pour out of his throat, his head seared in pain, and he was powerless to stop the red throwing axe that cut through the tip of the orange chakra shell, disrupting the entire sealing process. 

The chakra rebound of the failed jutsu knocked him off of his feet, disrupting both his Kyuubi and Sage Modes. He slammed onto his back as blood erupted through his mouth, the pain in his chest doubling as his vision turned black. 

_No!_

The chakra that had settled in his chest seemed to sense his weakened state, and grew, becoming a many headed serpent that slithered through his chakra network, consuming every last bit of chakra in his body. His entire body went numb as he lost his sense of touch, and it felt like he was floating in a pool of nothingness as Kurama’s yells grew more and more distant. 

His sense of taste and smell were overwhelmed by the metallic tang of his blood. His sense of hearing was lost as ringing gave way to silence. 

He fell into a sea of darkness and began to drown. 

_No..._

The fight was over. 

_No…_

He lost. 

**Days until Summit: 3  
Status: Critical Condition.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has probably been the hardest chapter to write so far. The action I originally had in mind was incredibly cool, yet so complex. Pacing, tension, all that jazz was so much more difficult to actually convey than I expected, though I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. 
> 
> If you have any suggestions on how to tackle action, or areas that you think I might need to improve on, please let me know. 
> 
> Next chapter preview: 
> 
> _Wow, looks like my imagination has outdone itself this time._
> 
> _Wait. Is this real?_


	17. Anchor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy~

Light. 

Like the brilliance of the smile bestowed upon him upon every safe return, the radiance of the way she moved around her small kitchen. 

Warmth. 

Like the embrace she gave him after they vanquished Pain, sobbing into his shoulder, her goggles contained her tears. 

Music. 

Like the laughter she blessed him with with every inside joke, that joyful song that made him feel as though happiness was the only thing that the world had to offer. 

Many years ago, sometime after he made genin, he had offered to help her out behind the counter, and burned his hand at the stove. Back then, she had been a shy little thing, scared of the world, but as he whined about the pain, she had found the strength to make him sit still as she quickly soaked a towel in cold water and placed it over his hands, hers over his. 

It had been an odd feeling, having his hands held by someone, even if it was through a towel. He had been so caught off guard that he had failed to notice that his advanced healing had already taken care of the problem, and simply sat there, marvelling at sight of her hands on his. 

The light that shined as she smiled at him. 

The warmth of her hands on his when she examined his hand after removing the towel.

The music that was the soothing words she spoke before she could fight her shyness no more and fled the scene. 

He cherished those parts of her, and as the years passed by, as that scene repeated itself in many different forms, he always revisited the day when he, for the first time, wished more than anything to just be able to see them. 

Her eyes.

It was the object of many of his greatest fantasies. He’d be at a mission briefing and instead of paying attention, would be imagining scenarios where she’d finally reveal them to her. 

Would they be the same, soft brown as Ayame’s? Would they be filled with the same warmth and kindness as her smile, as her words? 

What would they look like when directed at him? 

In his dreams, when drowning in the darkest seas of despair, these dreams were his anchor. The vision that one day, he’d have the privilege to gaze into those eyes, and see what she truly looked like when she smiled, kept him from falling completely. 

Madara had killed him. Had ripped Kurama straight out of him, disrupting his chakra network and severing the bond between his soul and body. Had it not been for Sakura, his powerful Uzumaki chakra, and his connection to Ashura, he would have been lost. Would have gone deeper into the dark void he had fallen into, was falling through before the Sage of Six Paths found him. 

When falling, it was not with the cold hands of death clenched around him. 

It was the warmth of her hands in his. 

It was his lifeline. He knew that as long as there would be the day when he could see how her smile extended to her eyes, dying was not an option. When floating in the abyss, on the verge of falling over completely, like how he was now, those dreams were the thing that would keep him from the edge, allow him to come back to life, stronger, more hopeful and more determined than before. 

He had called it a simple crush. Simple animal attraction. After all, didn’t all guys fantasise about the pretty women in their lives? 

The pain of her rejection showed him otherwise.

And now, as he drifted in the expanses of his unconscious mind, it was as though the dark skies had cracked open to allow a trickle of her light to touch his skin. As though her hand had reached through the deep water to hold his own, her warmth flowing through his veins and driving the cold despair of death further from his heart. As though she was right there beside him, playing her sweet music as she softly sang into his ear, the melody and words a bittersweet rendition of a song they had once made up on a cold, November morning. 

It was as though she was right there, floating beside him, keeping him from falling below the surface. 

His imagination never failed to run wild. 

When would the fated day come? How would it transpire? Would he get to touch her hair, lightly run his hands through that which was hidden from him for so long as he gazed into her equally longing eyes? Would she look at him with the same longing, the same burning desire that Kurama told him he had in his eyes when he looked at her? 

Would she peek up at him shyly, hiding those elusive eyes under her eyelashes, hiding her hand in her hands as she edged away from him in embarrassment? Would she let him hold her close and press his forehead against hers, with no goggles, no towel holding him back? 

Or would he lie in darkness, her hand in his like that afternoon all those years ago, her warmth the only thing that mattered, her sweet singing more valuable than the air he breathed? Would he lie there, his body broken and his vision obscured as she held his hand, the feel of her small, comforting hand the only real thing in the world? 

_Wait._

Like the tides that gently go in and out of the beach, he had slipped from dreams to reality. 

“Na...ta?” 

His voice was harsh, and he coughed violently, but the singing stopped, replaced by a gasp and the sweet melody of his name on her tongue. 

“Naruto-kun!” 

_Is she… is she really here?_

The Fox remained silent, but the warm grip on his hand tightened as he tried to talk again, only to fail and start coughing. 

“Naruto-kun! I’ll— I’ll go call Sakura-chan!” 

A burst of panic seized him as he felt the grip on his hand begin to loosen. 

“Wait!’ he croaked out, trying to clear his overly dry and scratchy throat. “D-don’t go.” 

He tried to hold on, but he was too weak. Yet all was not lost; her fingertips were still in contact with his own, as though she was hesitating. He struggled to open his eyes to properly take a look at her, but it was as though he had been blindfolded.

“S...stay… with me. Please. Just… for a little… bit.” 

The warmth at his fingers travelled back down to his palms, and he gripped as tightly as he could. He tried shifting in bed, but couldn’t barely do anything more than to flex his fingers slightly, and cough. It was as though a weight was on his chest, restricting his movement, and the boundaries between dream and reality blurred as his lack of vision made it seem as though he was still swimming in the black depths of his subconscious. 

But it was all alright. 

He had his anchor with him.

“Na...ta…” he whispered softly, his voice still hoarse, but with each passing second that she held his hand, he felt little slivers of strength crawl their way into him. “How… are you?” 

There was a slight sniffle, along with a soft chuckle somewhere above him. 

“You’re the one lying here. I should be the one asking you that.” 

“Ah… well, thought… it’s been a while. Ya know.” 

She must have taken his hand with her other hand, because the grip and the warmth on it doubled. As strength began to trickle back into him, the sleepy numbness that had travelled from the realm of dreams with him began to fade away, and he became acutely aware of just how bad his state was. His ribs felt like they were reduced to a pile of rubble; his headache and his lungs felt as though they were constricted by a band. 

It hurt all over. 

So, he focused only on her hand. 

It worked brilliantly. 

Breathing in as deeply as he could without causing too much pain in his chest, he took a moment to center himself. Counting as he breathed in and out, he tried to keep the emotions within him from going out of control. The pain of rejection and the torment he put himself through for the past week were put aside as he zeroed in on the sensation of Nata running her thumb over his skin, concentrating on the soothing circular motion to calm down as he thought about how to bring up what he really wanted to talk about. 

“So… how did they find me?”

“Sasuke-san. Rokudaime-sama says that the Anbu reinforcements met him halfway.” There was more sniffing above him. “It took both Tsunade-sama and Sakura-chan two full days, and a full team of Konoha’s most qualified medics to drive out the thing killing you.” 

Naruto tried grinning. 

“As expected,” he managed, his voice growing slightly stronger and clearer. He looked for more topics to give him more time to prepare. “So, is… is Sasuke still in the village?” 

“He… left. Rokudaime-sama wouldn’t tell me all the details, but apparently Sasuke-san drove off the people you were fighting. Apparently, you already had them almost beat anyways.” 

“Sweet.”

He could imagine the way she would have smiled at him. 

“Apparently, the evidence shows that you put up quite the fight.” 

“What… would you expect? I’m… Uzu...maki… Naruto… ya know.” 

A moment of silence fell over them. Nata continued to run her finger over his hand, holding it tightly as though it was but an ephemeral treasure, while he marvelled at its comfort. 

But he couldn’t do this for too long. He had other things on his mind. 

This was torture. Nata was the one person he could always have a comfortable silence. For all his loud and energetic ways, simply being in her presence was enough. Yet… 

He had run for too long. 

“You… didn’t… answer. My first question.” 

“Oh.” 

The silence that he enjoyed so much with her was agony. Usually, if a silence ever fell over them, it was more like a fluffy blanket 

Now…

 _No._

Now was the time he stopped running. 

“Nata… how have you been?” 

He hears more quiet sniffing, and one of the hands holding his own is pulled away momentarily, only to, upon being replaced, have some spots of wetness on them. 

_Tears?_

That meant… her eyes...

“Terrible.”

Her whisper goes straight through his heart like an arrow. 

“Yeah, I can relate,” he replies, trying to put on a smile. “The last couple of weeks… it hasn’t exactly been a party.” 

He hears something halfway between a laugh and a sob. “I… I’ve had trouble sleeping for the past couple of weeks. I felt like… crying all the time.” 

“...Yeah. Me too.” 

The grip tightened on his hand. 

“I… felt so ashamed. For running away. For not… explaining myself.” 

He gulped.

“I… me too. I shouldn’t have… shouldn’t have felt so sorry for myself. Should’ve realised… you wouldn’t do something like. For no reason. Ya know.” 

“You… you shouldn’t feel — it was all my fault.” He could practically hear her frowning. 

“Yeah… maybe… but I’m guilty too.” 

“No you’re not,” she insisted, and there was the fire in her voice that he loved to hear so much. “I was the one who… who lost control of their emotions and just ran away from the problem!” 

“I ran away too.” 

“Only because of how much respect you have for people!” she said adamantly. “I know you, and I know that you would have wanted to give me space!” 

“Heh… I dunno, I was….” He coughed lightly. “I was too busy sulking. And depressed.” 

He could already see her shaking her head. 

“I was… I was… I should have apologized earlier. I wanted to! But then I heard about you spending time with this noble from the Land of Waves, and then some other rumours, and I, uh… look, Naruto-kun, you have nothing to feel bad about! You are not guilty!” 

“Yeah, I am. I… didn’t go to Ichiraku. You’re dad must have… gone out of business without my money.” 

A moment of silence, then she started chuckling. Quietly, very slightly, but it was there, and a sense of contentment washed over him at the sound. It was like he wasn’t lying there, half beaten to death by aliens. Hardly registering that his voice was still messed up, he forced his thoughts into becoming reality.

“Look, Nata… I’m not… upset with you. And… you don’t need to explain yourself. It’s… okay.” 

“It’s not okay!” she exclaimed vehemently. “I don’t want you to think that I was rejecting you!” 

“But… you were.” 

“I was rejecting going to the Summit! I couldn’t… I can’t go, Naruto-kun. I should have made my position clearer, but I can’t go to the Summit! It has nothing to do with… with…” 

It was like his heart was a stampede of bulls, beating so hard that his whole body felt like it was vibrating. 

_Am I dreaming?_

It was exactly as Sakura tried to tell him, and yet… 

“Nata.” 

“Naruto-kun.” 

“Would you…” His mouth felt even drier than before, and his entire face turned hot. “So… you ran away… because—”

“Because I felt bad about having to reject going to the Summit with you! But it was only because of the Summit, not you! I would have…. I would have loved to go otherwise… with you… to… umm…” 

_Loved to go… with me?_

Time froze. 

His stomach did several flips. And then it did some more.

“What you said that day,” Nata continued, and Naruto felt like his entire soul was threatening to burst out of his body from the pressure created by his emotions. “I… I can’t help but play it again and again in my head. You said that you needed me, and I… I failed you. And, the thing is…” He could hear her take a deep breath. “I need you too.” 

“....Oh. I… see.” 

Never had he expected to hear someone ever say something like that. His heart felt like it was on the verge of imploding.

Did what she said… mean the same thing to her that it meant for him?

“You… need? Me?” 

“... Yes.” 

“Like… to buy your ramen?” 

Chuckling, Nata resumed drawing faint circles on his skin with her thumb. 

“No.”

“Oh.”

_Oh._

“Nata?” 

Aside from gripping his hand exceptionally hard, she gave him no response.

“Nata... “ 

“...Yes?” 

“Is this… a dream?” 

He heard her quiet laughter again, and it was as though he had sprouted wings. Her voice was more rejuvenating than any medicine, gave him more clarity than anything else. It was such a beautiful sound too, a laugh that could never be spawned of ill will. It was what he imagined angels would sound like. 

“No, Naruto-kun. You’re not imagining this.” 

“Oh… good. For a moment… I was worried that those aliens might have hit me way too hard.” 

“Oh, right!” she said, a little surprise evidence in her voice. “Naruto-kun, you really should rest! You were in a bad condition, and I was only supposed to be here for a short while! I’ll go… go get Sakura-chan or—”

“Stay. Please?” 

_Please don’t run away this time. Please don’t run away from me._

_I don’t want you to leave me._

_Please._

“Okay.” 

He felt an enormous sense of relief, and used what little strength he had gained back to squeeze Nata’s hand as tightly as he could. It wasn’t much, but the added pressure gave him a greater sense of reality. It grounded him.

_This is not a dream._

“Nata?” 

“Hmm?” 

“You’re not wearing… your goggles. Are you?” 

There was a sharp intake of air, and he felt her grip loosen slightly, but it was only after a moment's hesitation that she nervously answered. 

“No, I'm not.” 

“Huh. Wish…” _that I could see them._

She was right there, her eyes open to be looked at. 

Fate was cruel. 

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. 

“Not… your fault. Can’t seem to… open my eyes.” 

“Whoever you fought against really messed you up,” she agreed. 

He was almost done cursing his luck when suddenly, Nata lifted his hand up. Moving her own hands away from the fingers and towards the wrist, she brought his hand up to her face, and placed it against her skin. 

“Wow.” 

It was so soft. He had held her hands before, of course, had felt her rough, calloused cook’s hands, but never before had he been allowed to so gently run his fingers across her face. Slowly moving his fingers as much as he could, he ran his fingertips lightly across her cheek, marvelling at the feeling of her skin on his fingers, before reaching her eyes. 

They were closed. Touching her delicate eyelids with the softest caress he could muster, though, gave him a powerful feeling deep in his chest. 

They were there. Her eyes. 

“Wow,” he repeated himself. He then brought his fingers down, and cupped her cheek instead. 

Nata sighed, and seemed to lean into his touch. 

_Holy shit._

Devoid of the light of her eyes, the radiance of her smile, blinded by his weakened state, he had relied on the music of her voice, and on the warmth of her touch. Her laughter was a symphony of happiness and summer, and her hands brought with them kindness and life. 

And yet… he had no idea how powerful the music of her sigh was. Had no idea of how warm her cheeks were. 

He understood now. And he never wanted to lose it again. 

**_Take the leap._ **

“Nata… I… I...” _am in love with you._ “I really missed you.”

One hand slipped up over his own and held it against her cheek. 

“Me too,” she whispered. 

“I…” _want to stay by your side forever._ “I missed your ramen, ya know.” 

She gently laughed again. 

“I missed charging you for the obscene amounts of ramen you eat too.” 

Naruto smiled fondly at her, chuckling slightly himself, the pain in his chest and throat all but gone now. 

As they say, laughter is the best medicine. 

And with Nata, laughter and smiles were easy.

“Nata?” 

“Mmm?”

“I…”

 _I…_

_I..!_

“...love you, Naruto-kun.”


	18. Side View: Sakura

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, I've been so busy lately that I've barely had time to do anything for fun, and I've been so exhausted that even the things that I do for fun seem like work. But hey, new chapter, finally! 
> 
> If you follow my other work, namely Trail of Notes and Highest Room of the Tallest Tower, chapters are coming soon (as well as a Halloween special fic for Spy x Family, a manga that I highly recommend), it's just that... I dunno. I felt like writing this one first. 
> 
> ALSO, check out this awesome artwork that [buf309](https://www.pixiv.net/en/users/2509148) made based on Trail of Notes (<https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/85144495>). I still can't process how amazing it is. 
> 
> Anyways, enjoy~

Sakura yawned.

Drowsy, she glanced at the clock at the corner of her modest office. It was the middle of the night — three in the morning, to be exact — and Nata still wasn’t done. Technically, visitation hours had been long over, but after seeing just how distressed Nata had been ever since Sasuke and the Anbu came dragging Naruto’s smoking body back to the village, Sakura reasoned that a little nepotism wouldn’t have been too unforgivable. 

Still, she had been by Naruto’s bedside since eleven now. When Sakura had left her there, asking Nata to let her know when she was about to go home, Nata had been sitting there, crouched over Naruto’s still body, clutching his hand in the darkness, the ward illuminated only the fluorescent lighting of the corridor outside creeping through in under the door. It was… concerning. 

_I wonder if she can see a damn thing through those goggles of hers…_

She shook the thought away, even as a tiny bit of curiosity peaked out of its hiding place inside of her. It was a sensitive matter for Nata, and she didn’t want to pry. 

Yet that left her all alone in her messy office, facing a desk buried under paperwork and scrolls with experimental medical jutsu, a wall of overflowing filing cabinets behind her, the door and a massive pinboard covered in research to her left, and the shut windows to her right, blocked by a series of complicated apparatuses. The room was lit only by the fluorescent lighting above her, poorly ventilated and stuffy as she slouched on her chair, fighting from nodding away. 

Slapping her cheeks in an effort to stay awake, she desperately tried to concentrate on the sealed conical flask sitting in front of her. Placed on a stone sealing slab that was occupying the small part of her desk that wasn’t covered by a scroll containing the formula for treating Fire Style lung disease, it was clear save for the vertical lines of sealing formula running down from the cork. Several lines of jutsu formula ran horizontally as well, trailing down to a separate scroll on the slab — an analysis formula.Violently bubbling inside of it was some sort of dark red liquid that almost seemed like it was boiling despite the power of the sealing slab. 

It was a sample of the poison they had extracted from Naruto. 

Gazing critically at the way the analysis formula they had drawn into the cork glowed and changed colour intermittently, she took one more look across the report the Hyuuga medical analysts had left her. The elements of the chakra their Byakugans had picked up were beyond anything they or Tsunade or anyone had ever seen. 

“Why the hell don’t you make any sense?” she groaned in frustration as some of the runes and kanji on the analysis scroll changed into other mysterious shapes and glowed a pale, mustard yellow. “There’s no pattern, no nothing!” 

Picking up a brush and opening up a reference book, she copied down a few more special runes on the scroll and activated them with her chakra. 

The scroll vibrated, and her new runes immediately changed shape before glowing blue. 

“Damn you!” 

Slamming down the reference book, she stood up and stepped to her right, pushing away a large device and opening the window to let in a refreshing breeze. She stuck her head out and tried to take deep breaths, rubbing her temple even as a vein throbbed in her forehead. 

It made no sense. The analysis formulae she and her medical team had drawn out were supposed to yield runes that would give clues as to the mechanism of the poison. Yet the results were constantly shifting and changing, and what was worse was that none of those symbols were recognizable. 

Closing her eyes as she tried to stay calm — and most importantly, awake — she gripped the window sill, trying to clear her mind. She performed the breathing exercises Tsunade had taught her during her training. Exercises that would both help her chakra control, and that would allow for her to stay calm during important medical procedures. She shook her head slightly. She was a trained medic. A sleepless night of analysis wasn’t something new, or something to cry about. 

Yet she was getting nowhere. With the Five Powers Summit starting in the afternoon — at least, if it weren’t going to be cancelled, Kakashi had made it clear that an antidote was to be created as quickly as possible in case the timing of the attack was not a simple coincidence. 

Her mind was occupied as it was, with worry over Naruto and Nata, who had spent most of her time at Naruto’s side. Sakura would see her sleeping on the chair by his bedside or singing softly to him. The few times Nata had been halfheartedly kicked out by hospital staff, she spent hours working at Ichiraku with more fervour than ever, as though it was a tribute of some sorts. 

Sakura’s heart went out to her. She didn’t have the heart to send Nata away or scold her, not when Nata had comforted her in the past over… her own problem.

A problem that didn’t seem to want to go away. 

A problem that just _had_ to be the only solution to saving Naruto.

There was a slight shift in the direction of the wind, and the vein in her forehead throbbed harder than ever. 

_Right on cue._

“Fancy seeing you here,” she said quietly, eyes still closed but her grip on the window sill harder than ever. “Didn’t you leave two days ago?” 

“Had to meet with Kakashi again,” the evening air replied. 

“You seem to respond so quickly to him every time he needs you. What, signed a summoning contract with him? Or are you just camped out outside of the village?” 

“I have my ways,” the breeze said. 

Opening her eyes, Sakura turned to look at the cloaked man leaning against the hospital wall. Sasuke was looking directly upwards, but his black hair danced in the evening wind, and she could see the onyx of his cold, harsh gaze fixed upon the sky above them. 

Those eyes only ever seemed to soften for her. 

She was determined to move past that. Yet, with him in front of her, it was hard to remember why. They didn’t get to talk when Sasuke had last come, Naruto’s dying body in tow, but the one moment of eye contact that they shared almost threatened to destroy her resolve. 

“I looked into Naruto’s ward just now. Saw that girl from the ramen place,” Sasuke said. 

“Nata?”

“Probably. Haven’t seen her since before I defected.” 

“Well, what about it? Just someone being sad about the fact that someone they love is hurt,” she said indignantly. 

“It’s three in the morning.”

Sakura looked at him defiantly. 

“So?”

“It’s unhealthy.” 

She wanted to laugh, but knew it would sound too derisive. 

“Like you’re one to talk.” 

There was a pause as the two of them looked up at the cloudless, star studded sky, watching the glow of the pale moon. 

It would have been so romantic. 

“Daimyo’s decided to go ahead with the Summit.” 

Sasuke spoke abrupt, with an air of indifference. But Sakura, though unsurprised, was outraged. 

“What? But surely with Naruto being attacked so close to the venue—”

“Doesn’t matter. With the attack happening at a time when most of the guests had already arrived, the daimyo’s administration thought that it would look bad if the entire thing were to be cancelled.”

“But, Kakashi-sensei—”

“Protested. At the end of the day, he was just told to up the security.” Sasuke sighed. “They decided to keep the fact that Naruto almost got killed secret too.” 

Sakura scoffed. 

“Well of course, the Land of Fire only cares about its image as home to the most powerful shinobi in the world.”

She emphasised the last part while shooting a side glance at Sasuke, but he didn’t seem to react. Groaning, she propped her elbows against the window sill, resting her head on her palms as she contemplated the news. 

“Things will look bad if Naruto’s still in his coma by the time of the Summit,” she whispered, more to herself. “It’s today and Naruto is showing no signs of waking up. Plus, it’ll look like he stood up the daughter of the Land of Waves daimyo.” 

“The Land of Waves daimyo’s daughter?” 

“Yeah, they’re going together. A political message or whatever.” 

“That is… surprising. I thought he was in love with that ramen girl.” 

She looked at him with her eyebrow raised. 

“Since when? Not that you’re wrong, but… how do you know that?” 

He shrugged. 

“They looked pretty in love with each other when I looked in five minutes ago.” 

“You mean she looked in love with him,” Sakura corrected him. 

“Naruto too. He looked like he was crying. And that ramen girl too. Doesn’t she normally wear goggles?” 

He ducked as Sakura swiped at him. She hit the wall instead, leaving a slight crack on it, but Sakura paid it no attention as she leaned further out of the window, glaring furiously at Sasuke’s shadowy figure. 

“You mean he’s awake?” she yelled. “Why didn’t you tell me?” 

“He seemed fairly distracted with the ramen girl,” Sasuke replied nonchalantly as he moved away from another swipe. “I didn’t want to interrupt him.” 

“You… you!” 

“And you seemed distracted with that poison,” Sasuke noted. 

Sakura immediately stopped, and, though still fuming, looked over at the poison. A sudden bit of inspiration hit her. 

“Say… Sasuke-kun… You said that you fought off guys who looked like Ootsutsukis, right?” 

He nodded. 

“Then, perhaps, could you look at the poison with your Rinnegan? Maybe your doujutsu could…”

“The Rinnegan is strictly a combat based eye,” he immediately countered. “There’s nothing in terms of analysis that I could supply that the Byakugan couldn’t have already detected, and that you with your specialised analytical equipment couldn’t have picked up on.” 

Sakura’s shoulders sagged. The chance of potentially decoding the poison and potentially finding a cure were getting slimmer and slimmer. Not to mention that having Sasuke analyse the poison could have meant that he could stay in the village for a bit longer… 

“Then why are you here, Sasuke-kun?” 

He raised an eyebrow. 

“I’m here to help Kakashi and Naruto.” 

“No, Sasuke-kun. Why are you… here?” 

It was a gorgeous night, and Sakura was sure that the soft moonlight and the twinkling glow of the stars was illuminating Naruto’s ward beautifully, blanketing him and Nata in its perfect embrace. But here, that beautiful night sky only shed light to the ugly matter at hand. 

“You asked me before if you could come with me on my travels.” 

Sakura had a sneaking suspicion as to where he was getting with this, but instead of stopping him there, she simply nodded. 

“I asked you to wait for me. And you waited.” 

“I did.” 

“I… Come with me, Sakura. After the Summit, and this Ootsutsuki thing is over. Come with me.” 

That was the problem. 

She had always assumed that she would have to fight for Sasuke’s affection, that she had to earn his respect and his love. She had dreamed of what she would do once she won it, of course, but in some way, to her, she never expected that the fight would ever end. 

He loved her. And she genuinely did not know what to do with that. 

“I… I can’t keep doing this, Sasuke-kun.” 

“Sakura, please, just consider....” 

“We already decided not to! We have different goals! We have different lives! I can’t just drop everything!” 

Pressing her face against her palms, she was half tempted to pull at her hair and scream. It had been frustrating watching Nata and Naruto dance around each other, too awkward to be honest with their feelings, one too shy and the other far too idiotic. It wasn’t easy. 

But it distracted her. 

When she wasn’t trying to get Naruto out of his funk following his rejection, she had been spending time hanging out with Nata. While he was locking himself up in his apartment, she had gone to Nata to try and convince her that Naruto didn’t hate her for rejecting him. She had seen the absolute guilt tearing her apart and tried what she could to soothe it. After sparring sessions with Naruto, she went shopping with Nata, inviting Kyoka and Ino to go with them. When Nata refused to take her shift at Ichiraku, she had brought over bags of cinnamon rolls for them to talk over. 

When she had been informed that Naruto was being brought into the hospital, she was at Ichiraku with Nata, complaining about the heat. 

It wasn’t just them. She had tried to help Ino and Sai with their budding relationship as well, and encouraged Shikamaru to join more diplomatic missions to the Land of Wind. 

It kept her distracted from her own issues. 

“Sasuke-kun, we want different things.” 

“Sakura, you are still too young to think about children. You might change your mind.” 

“We’re shinobi! I’m twenty, which for a shinobi basically means that I’m middle aged! We have no idea when we might die!” She took a deep breath and looked straight at Sasuke. “Look, you’re saying that I might change my mind in time. Will you?” 

He looked back at her, and, though his face was completely blank, she liked to think that there was at least some bit of sadness in that eye of his. 

“No.” 

Sakura nodded as she leaned back and shut the window, closing the blinds along with it. Rushing out of her office, she ran up the stairs and directly to Naruto’s hospital room. 

There would be no time for tears. 

There was Naruto to look over, and Nata to scold for not informing her. 

Pausing in front of his door, she took a deep breath to collect her thoughts. 

_Just… focus on Naruto now. Focus on the Summit._

She opened the door, switching on the lights as she did so. 

“Nata, why didn’t you tell me Naruto was—” 

_Oh._

_Her goggles._


	19. The Zone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven't updated in a while! Well, in terms of fanfiction, it's not actually been that long, but for me, it's been quite a long time! A little shorter chapter today, but I still hope that you will all enjoy! This is mostly a primer of sorts for the approaching Summit, so brace y'allselves. That arc gon' be big, with hopefully more frequent updates now that I'm slightly less busy.

"I love you, Naruto-kun.” 

For a moment, it felt like Naruto’s heart had stopped. His breathing had stopped. 

_What did she… did she just…_

He tried to open his mouth, but no words would come out, so he closed it again. His mind seemed to have broken from hearing that one, simple statement. 

Nata stayed silent. The only indication of her still being there with him was the feel of her soft cheek on his hand, and her own hand gently clasped around his. It seemed as if she was waiting, holding her breath and waiting for a response of some sort. 

“You… you…” he began, but Nata suddenly cut him off. 

“You’re… y-you’re my precious friend, Naruto-kun.”

_Oh._

_Oh no._

His heart hadn’t just stopped, it seemed to be trying to compress itself into a cube in a process more painful than the poison he had endured while battling the Ootsutsukis. It seemed like he didn’t have lungs anymore, and all the strength that he had built up from their conversation dissipated. 

He let go of her cheek, and in what he assumed was surprise, Nata let go of his hand, allowing it to fall back to his side. 

_She loves me._

_As a friend._

“Naruto-kun?” she asked hesitantly above him. 

He did not reply. 

“Naruto-kun,” Nata pressed on, “you’re so important to me. More than you could ever know. And I want you to be safe. I want you to take better care of yourself. The Summit is in the morning, and you have to be there, and you’re here right now, and the people who put you in here are still out there, a-and… ”

It sounded like she was starting to get overwhelmed and cry, and, despite the crushing grip on his heart that was threatening to make him dissolve into a puddle of self-pity, his instincts kicked in. 

“Hey, hey, I’ll be fine, ya know!” He blindly reached out for her hand, and she met him halfway. He drew soothing lines on her skin with his thumb as he spoke in the soft, quiet tone he reserved just for her. “Look, I might be lying here, all beaten up and stuff, and the Summit might be — did you say today?” 

“Yeah,” she sniffed. “Right now it’s the middle of the night; the Summit is supposed to start in several hours.” 

“Ah, well, I’ll recover in time probably. Anyways, all this might be going on, but I’m still the kick-ass Kyuubi jinchuuriki everyone knows and loves! I beat Kaguya and Pain! I fucking beat Sasuke, ya know! These alien creeps won’t get me a second time, not now that we have a sample — I think — of their weird poison thing! It’ll all be okay, ya know! Plus, these past two weeks, since I wasn’t going to Ichiraku, I had to be more creative with food. I ate more veggies and stuff, like you always tell me too!” 

“No you didn’t,” Nata laughed. There was a runny nose and tears involved, he could tell, but she still laughed, and Naruto’s heart, no matter how crushed, jumped for joy at the sound. 

“Oh come on, you know how much I value your opinion! I like, ate fresh greens and, uhh, fruit.”

“Oh please, you probably stayed in your apartment eating cup ramen all day!” 

“Nuh-uh!” 

“Unless Tou-chan and Nee-chan and I literally force you to, you wouldn’t so much as look at anything edible unless it’s in ramen.” 

“I’m not that ramen obsessed! I follow your advice and stuff. I won’t just eat anything that has the word ‘ramen’ on it.” 

“Naruto-kun, I have literally switched out your ramen with healthier alternatives a thousand times and you’ve never noticed. You always stop paying attention as soon as you hear the word.” 

Naruto had to admit, he was caught off-guard by that statement, and he tried desperately hard to cover up how shaken he was as he spoke. “W-well, d-do you seriously think I didn’t know? I’m an elite shinobi, ya know! I just didn’t want to hurt your feelings!” 

“For a ninja, you’re terrible at lying.” 

“For someone whose life depends on selling ramen, you’re terrible at promoting it, ya know!”

Nata was laughing hard now, and even he couldn’t help it. 

“I mean, you actively deter your best customer from eating your food!” he managed to say in between bouts of laughter. 

“What do you mean, I always comply with your outrageous orders,” she said in a mock affronted tone. “You just don’t pay attention.” 

“You literally just said that you try tricking me by switching my orders,” Naruto pointed out. “That doesn’t sound like complying with your customer’s wishes at all. I should tell that to the food critics and boycott your restaurant for that, ya know. Of course, I wouldn’t do that, without my patronage, Ichiraku might not ever recover.” 

“Hey! We handled ourselves perfectly fine these last couple of weeks! And business was booming those two years you were off with Jiraiya-sama,” she argued with mirth. “Whereas you can’t go two days without ramen of some sort. Plus, you say you support Ichiraku, but we don’t sell cup ramen, so really, you’re buying from the competition!” 

“Oh yeah? Well you… you sometimes don’t fill my bowl as much as you do your other customers!” 

“That’s because you always ask for seconds, and then thirds, and then tenths. I’m just making sure that our other customers get food. And you’re one to talk, Mr ‘Gimme discount, I’m broke again, ya know!’” 

They both exploded in gales of laughter at that. Her impression had been uncanny, and it distracted Naruto from the sudden recollection that had started to emerge — that he had eaten an impossibly large amount of cup ramen during their brief time apart because of how much that food made him think of her. 

Eventually, their laughter subsided, leaving Naruto with a content smile, until he realised that their fingers were still intertwined. And that reminded him of what she had said previously. 

_”You’re my precious friend.”_

Just a friend. Precious, someone she loved, but as nothing more than a friend. 

He tightened his grip on her hand, before reluctantly letting go. 

“So… you’re really going to the Summit with that Land of Waves official?” Nata awkwardly asked after a long moment of silence. 

“Yeah. To show the alliance between the Lands of Waves and Fire. You know, just as friends,” Naruto explained, though he really wished he didn’t have to think about it. Rumours spread quickly in Konoha, and considering his status as an international celebrity, things were going out of hand the last time he was awake. 

“Oh, good.” 

“Huh?” 

“I mean, good that you’re showing international cooperation like that!” Nata said, speaking a little faster than she normally would have. 

“Oh, yeah, yeah it is good,” he sullenly agreed. Then he groaned. 

On top of having the sudden presence of the Ootsutsuki to deal with, he not only had the Summit to deal with in several hours, he also had to go there with Naomi. As nice as it was to hang out with her, it was undoubtedly going to be a hassle going with her as his date when the two of them would have their own, separate diplomatic business to attend to. He would also have to manage to completely heal by dawn — or at least heal to the point where it would be hard to tell that he had just been thrashed — and apologise for missing lunch with her and her overeager brother. 

And he couldn’t even concentrate on that because he was currently lying in bed with Nata by his side, a Nata who wasn’t wearing her goggles he might add, bathed no doubt by moonlight as they spoke in the dead of night. The picture of romance, the perfect opportunity for a mutual confession and the start of something beautiful, and he was too busy wallowing in self-pity.

 _No._

He couldn’t do that, couldn’t just make assumptions, couldn’t cast himself into what Sai referred to as “the friend zone” just because of what she had said. She just called him her friend, which was true, and saying “I love you” to friends is a perfectly fine phenomenon. 

He had to take Kurama’s advice. 

“Nata,” he finally said after another long moment of silence, “what you said earlier.”

“Your addiction?” she asked. 

“No, before that.” 

“You need to look after yourself more?” 

“Just before that.” 

There was another long pause. 

“You’re my precious friend, Naruto-kun,” she whispered with all the softness of a lullaby. “Someone I care about more than anything.” 

“Yeah? And what does that mean?” Naruto asked, bracing himself for rejection. 

“It.. i-it means…” Nata became silent once more, and for a second, Naruto was sure that she would leave it at that, but then she took a deep breath, and took a plunge. “It means that you’re someone who—” 

Slam!

“Nata, why didn’t you tell me Naruto was—” 

The door crashed open, accompanied by the switching on of a light, and suddenly Naruto heard Sakura yelling out of nowhere, interrupting Nata. 

_Dammit! Not now!_

He heard a massive gasp, both from immediately right next to him, and by the door, and the realisation hit him: Sakura saw. 

Nata must have taken her goggles off because it was harder to see in the dark or because she was crying, but he had felt with his own hand that her eyes were bare. And judging by Sakura’s entrance, she had seen it. 

“N-Nata!” Sakura yelped, her voice thick with shock and disbelief. “Y-You’re—!”

“Sakura-chan!” Nata said very loudly, and Naruto heard her leave her chair and rush towards Sakura, the sound of clanging (Naruto reasoned that those were her goggles) accompanying her. He heard the way she must have pushed Sakura out of the room, and he definitely heard the sound of the doors slamming shut. 

_Oh shit. O-oh… oh, oh crap._

In contrast to how it was after Nata’s declaration, his heart was racing. His breathing was shallow. Adrenaline was coursing through his blood, and he could feel the first little embers of chakra stirring within him, as though the shock of the situation had reawakened it. 

_Sakura-chan knows. Sakura-chan has seen Nata. She has seen what she…!_

Body shaking, Naruto finally decided to go ahead and reach for his face. He had avoided seeing what was obstructing his vision since waking up in order to let Nata be comfortable, but now that she was outside with Sakura, he decided that he had enough. Reaching towards his face, Naruto hesitated, then gently placed the fingers that had held Nata’s hands and held her cheek onto his lips. Holding that position, his fingers held so lightly against his lips that they were practically hovering above, he nevertheless felt a massive jolt of electricity pass through him, revitalising him to the point that he thought he could feel Kurama stirring somewhere within him. 

After a minute of that, he then felt for his eyes, and found a sealed cloth laying above them. He was sure that it was there for a reason, but at the moment, he didn’t care. Channeling a small burst of chakra into his fingers — the effort involved causing pain to shoot through his hand — he managed to rip off the cloth, and immediately, he covered his eyes with his hand as the brightness of the fluorescent light above blinded him. Staying like that for a while as he didn’t dare channel the little chakra he had regained into his sensitive eyes, eventually, blinking rapidly, he felt his eyes adjust to the lighting of the room. They felt sensitive, and they hurt, but it felt better being able to see the hospital room around him. 

Then, pain shooting through his body, his bones groaning in agony and his joints screaming, he got out of his bed, stumbled forward a bit, then straightened up, glaring straight at the door. 

“Nata, we’ve got a conversation to finish, ya know,” he declared to the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was born as a pure fluff story that immediately began to change and become.... whatever this has become. So, apologies!


	20. Fragment 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Confession time: I've hit a bit of a writer's block. I know what's going to happen next, and I can visualise it in my head, but I can't seem to get it down in words. So, to help me get through this, I have written a bunch of "fragments," shorter chapters based on events from Naruto and Naruto Shippuden that have been altered due to, well, Hinata being a civilian, and while I didn't really plan on putting these up, well, why not? They are fun to write, and hopefully, y'all will enjoy them just as much as I do. 
> 
> The next actual chapter is on its way, I promise, but in the meantime... Fragment 1! I have several more, which I may or may not put up at some point. Oh, and happy winter solstice!

“Take em off.” 

“I-I can’t” 

“Come on, ya gotta take em off for this, ya know!” 

“I-I’m s-sorry, I can’t!” 

Konoha’s sunsets were always a thing to behold, especially from the mountains. The dominating glare of the sun turned to the soft glow of embers dying in a fireplace, blanketing the peaceful forests and hills with its orange embrace. The few clouds that were lazily drifting in the sky became the gentlest of pink, and a deep sense of calm seemed to settle down as all the trees beneath the sky seemed to take a breath. Up on their mountain peak, overlooking the rest of the village, Naruto and Nata were lying on their backs, having found a grassy patch to use as they gazed at the beauty of nature. 

“You’re missing the best part, though,” Naruto complained, pouting at Nata’s insistence in wearing her goggles. “You can’t see all the colours properly with your goggles on!”

Nata grimaced slightly, and from her lips he could see her hesitance. “I-It’s okay, I can see just fine,” she said unconvincingly. 

Sighing with exasperation, Naruto looked back up at the sky, his pout still as deep as ever. “Just how bad is your eye problem, anyways? I mean, sunset’s when the light’s not that bright!” 

“I… I don’t think it’s that bad,” she replied slowly, thinking through her response, “but Tou-chan told me that I shouldn’t take them off unless in the complete darkness.” 

“Have you ever gone to the hospital about this? Maybe the medic-nins could do something to help you, ya know!” 

“I-I… yes, we have.” 

Naruto was unconvinced, but he decided not to press the issue. It wasn’t the first time they had this discussion, and Naruto knew for a fact that there was something about the way Nata insisted on keeping her weird goggles and head towel on all the time. Still, if there was one thing Iruka and Sakura taught him, it was to respect boundaries. 

At least, after a long “teaching” period. 

“S-so, tomorrow’s the final exam,” Nata said after a moment of silence. 

“Yeah. I’ll be fighting that Hyuuga Neji jerk.” Naruto lost his pout, and grimly looked up at the orange sky. “Then, this whole Chunin Exams kerfuffle will be over.” 

“Kerfuffle?” Nata asked, amusement clear in her voice. 

“Ah, well, I learned it from that old pervert that taught me jutsu this entire month. Thought it’s pretty good. Ya know, with the whole thing with that snake bloke attacking my team and all. And that Suna douchebag… Gaara… you haven’t seen him, but he’s a real dick.” 

“N-Naruto-kun,” she scolded. 

But Naruto just pretended to yawn, and folded both arms beneath his head. “Look, I love challenges and all, but I can’t wait to go back to real missions, ya know! I mean, getting promoted to chunin’s great and all, but loads of ninja are chunin, and none of them are Hokage!” 

“Y-you should still try to pass, though.” 

“Nah, I think I’ll just stay a genin. Chunin sounds like a real hassle. I’ll be the first genin to go straight to Hokage, believe it!” 

They both laughed a bit at that. Nata’s giggles were still quiet, still timid, but she had still warmed up to him significantly since the time they had first met. 

But once the laughter stopped, Naruto couldn’t help but notice the rising dread in his gut at the prospect of having to fight Hyuuga Neji the next day. Noticing his shift to brooding in the ensuing silence, Nata turned her head to him, the towel twisting slightly as she turned on the grass, and she timidly stretched out a pinky finger towards him, lightly grazing his hand. 

“I’m gonna get murdered tomorrow, aren’t I?” he said quietly, turning his head towards her, his eyes fixed on the dark shades of her goggles that obscured what he imagined were eyes filled with concern and kindness. 

Nata shook her head, her towel rubbing against the grass. “Y-you’re strong, Naruto-kun. I know you’ll do fantastically.” 

“You haven’t seen him fight, though,” he objected. “You should have seen how he destroyed that girl from Team 8 during the preliminaries, and Kyoka’s really strong. At least, according to Iruka-sensei.” 

“You’re not Kyoka-san, though,” she argued. “You’re Uzumaki Naruto, and I believe in your strength.” 

“Really?” 

“Well,” Nata said, grinning slightly even as a blush enveloped her cheeks, “after seeing what I have seen, how could I not? Not everyone can eat that much ramen in one sitting. That’s what I call overwhelming strength” 

Naruto stared at her for a moment, then roared with laughter. It didn’t cheer him up completely, but it certainly knocked him out of his funk. 

Nata watched him laugh his nerves out, then, her hand slowly inching towards his own across the grass, continued. “I see you all the time, don’t I? Every time, before you practice, after you practice, you drop by Ichiraku, and my dad serves you up ramen. I see it. How tired you look. The cuts and the bruises and the scuff marks all over you. I see you covered in dust and mud and blood. I know just how much stamina you have, and you still work yourself past your limit, even before you became a ninja. I hear you complaining about your progress whenever you drop by with your friends, and your senseis. You always look so frustrated and so tired, but there’s always that fire in your eyes. I can see it, even with my glasses.” 

She blushed bright red, which helped her blend in with the warm glow of the sun in the sky, but Naruto, staring at her, transfixed, didn’t notice. 

“It’s the fire. It’s the gusto with which you eat my dad’s ramen. No matter how tired you are, no matter how bad you are at something, you always get up, and you always keep working. I helped patch you up all month, remember? That person, the old man that was teaching you this month, he took you here so many nights after you had tired yourself out. You told me how difficult summoning a toad was yourself. But you kept going. You never gave up.” 

She was blushing as brightly as the reddish glow of the sun setting in the horizon, but her smile was even brighter than that. 

“Tou-chan’s teaching me all of his techniques. His recipes. He told me that practice was the key, and that no matter how bad you are at cooking, the mark of a great cook is the love and the passion you have for the trade. Naruto-kun, you have so much passion for the Ninja Arts, and you work so hard. Tou-chan would call that true strength, and I agree. You are truly strong, Naruto, and that’s why you will beat Neji-sam… Hyuuga-san.” 

Her smile faltered slightly at the end, but in the awed silence that followed her speech, she couldn’t help but notice the way he was staring at her, open mouthed, or the way that he blushed, or the fact that her hand was on his and was squeezing it. 

Squeaking in panic, she immediately withdrew her hand and rolled away as fast and as far away from him as she could. In doing so, her towel, which was already in a precarious state from all the rubbing it did against the course grass, came undone, almost spilling her hair out. 

“Don’t look!” she screeched, panic nearly causing steam to shoot out of her ears as she hastily grabbed the loose towel, trying to keep too many strands of hair from falling out. For his part, Naruto very quickly shut his eyes, even turning away for good measure, as Nata adjusted the towel, taking a few moments to tie it back as tightly as she could, patting around it just to make sure there were no stray hairs peeking out. 

“S-sorry,” she stammered, quickly inclining her head as Naruto turned around. 

“N-no, d-don’t be,” he said, and, had she been more attentive, she would have noticed that his blush from her speech was still lingering. He was also rubbing the hand that she had been gripping. 

Then, after a moment, he grinned at her, and it wasn’t the fake, it-will-be-alright type of grin that he had been giving everyone since the announcement of the final exams. It was a genuine smile, an incredibly affectionate one at that. 

“Thank you, Nata,” he said, and his voice, usually full of mockery, was as insincere as he was before. “You… you’re really amazing. I mean, you’re weird and all that, sure, but you’re really amazing.” 

Hinata blushed. Which was a feat, considering that she was already glowing as radiantly red as the sun itself. 

“I’m not weird,” she mumbled. 

“You’re super weird,” he said, grinning more broadly. 

“Naruto-kun..” 

“There’s nothing wrong with being weird. Kakashi-sensei’s hella weird, and he’s one of the coolest people I’ve ever met!” 

“Th-then… then you are the w-weirdest person I’ve ever met.”

“Thanks!” Naruto replied, chuckling happily. Though nowhere near as prominent as Nata’s, his blush was still there, still burning on his cheeks. They turned slightly redder at Nata’s words.

“N-now, let’s get down,” she said softly. “I’m sure Tou-chan will want to give you a proper meal to get you ready for your fight tomorrow.” 

“Yeah!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, more fragments, or just the main story?


	21. Fragment 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick one I threw together for the holiday season. I don't celebrate Christmas but hey! Merry Santa day regardless! I wish you all all the happiness, safety and satisfaction in the world!

It’s true that he is obsessed with ramen. There was no denying that his pallet seemed to be magnetically attracted to what he viewed as the magical bowl of dreams and happiness. And really, despite what everyone always told him about diversifying his diet, what was so wrong with eating ramen all the time? Ramen’s delicious. Ramen brings him joy. Ramen brings him warmth. 

And of course, ramen brought him family. 

“N-Naruto-kun!” Nata giggled, desperately trying to hold back from full blown raucous laughter as she covered her mouth, completely distracted from the pot in front of her as she shook. Naruto, grinning, continued to make silly faces at her, several noodles hanging between his nose and his lips as though the moustache of an ancient man. 

“Now now, young lady,” he chided her in a hoarse impression of what sounded like the Third Hokage, “it is rude to laugh at an old man.” 

“It’s even ruder to make fun of Hokage-sama,” Iruka said, eyes narrowing. He was sitting at the stool next to him eyeing the interaction between the Academy student and the ramen chef’s daughter with great interest. “Didn’t you say that you wanted to be Hokage someday?” 

“So? Why shouldn’t I make fun of the Hokage? I’ll be Hokage eventually anyways, ya know. It won’t matter.”

“You’ve just turned twelve, Naruto. You might be graduating and becoming a genin by spring. Shouldn’t you grow up a bit? Be more mature?” 

“What’ya mean? I am mature,” Naruto exclaimed with a particularly gravely affectation of the old man, squinting harder than ever as he adjusted the noodle hanging off his lip. “I’m as old as the village, how can I not be mature?” 

Shaking his head in disbelief, Iruka turned to look at Teuchi, who shrugged at him. The man then turned to his daughter, who was breathing heavily, and continued trying to coach him in the art of ramen cooking. Naruto, who seemed pleased with himself, ate up his noodle moustache and went back to devouring another bowl of ramen. 

“So, Teuchi-san,” Iruka started conversationally, “Any plans for the holidays?” 

The Rinne Festival was coming up, and the entire village was gearing up for a major celebration. The holiday this year was going to be especially important as it would mark the end of an almost nine year feud between Konoha and Kumo. 

_The Hyuuga still aren’t too satisfied though,_ he couldn’t help but think, shuddering at the murderous looks on some of the Hyuuga students at the Academy following the announcement of the diplomatic end to the feud. _They’ve dragged this out for nine years and still want an eye for an eye._

“Oh, you know, the usual,” Teuchi said nonchalantly, helping out his daughter as she struggled with a particularly heavy pot. “The place’ll be busy. Gotta make sure the people get as much out of the festivities as possible.” 

At this, Iruka couldn’t help but shoot Naruto a sideways glance. His ravenous pace seemed to have stalled as soon as Iruka brought up the Rinne Festival. He couldn’t blame him, obviously; in a show of courtesy Naruto never usually showed, he usually abstained from visiting Ichiraku during the holidays, staying in his run down apartment instead, as he refused to scare away the crowds of customers that would show up at Ichiraku for the festivities. 

_I wonder if…_

“Of course, this year it’s all a bit more special isn’t it,” Teuchi continued, interrupting Iruka’s train of thought. “We might close a bit earlier and spend some time as a family.” 

“That’s great,” Iruka said, beaming at him and the little girl who was looking up at her father. “The holidays are for family, of course.”

At this, Naruto put down his bowl of finished ramen, and stood up. With a rather strained look on his face, he finished in his jumper for a bit, then pulled out some coins and gently placed them on the counter. 

“Thank you for the meal!” he said, throwing Teuchi a huge grin that just seemed to lack his usual enthusiasm before stuffing his hands in his pockets and walking away from the place. 

Nata nudged her father. 

“Oh, alright. You can go.” Teuchi spoke with a long-suffering voice, but it was clearly for show as he winked at Iruka and patted Nata on the back in encouragement. 

Nata didn’t need to be told twice. Tightening her head towel, she immediately darted out of the kitchen, and a few moments later, careened into the street and chased after Naruto. 

“Those kids,” Teuchi chuckled. “You know, I think Naruto’s been really good for Nattou. Bringing her out of her shell, you know.” 

“Yeah,” Iruka agreed, watching Nata crash into Naruto, sending them both onto the pavement. “You know, I may have my issues with Naruto, but I do have to tell you this.” He couldn’t help but grin at the way Naruto tried to help Nata back onto her feet, only to accidentally bonk their heads together and send them both onto the pavement. “These two sure are entertaining.”   
______________________________________________________________________________

“Ah, my bad! My bad!” Naruto apologised as he finally managed to get Nata to her feet. “So, uh, what’s up?” 

“I… I j-just…umm, I--EEK!” 

Nata, already scarlet from both their mishap and from the idea she was harbouring in her head, positively burned red as Naruto leaned towards her incredibly closely, surveying her face. 

“You okay, Nata? Didn’t get hurt from the fall, did you?” 

She was already fairly unstable on her feet, and shaking a bit. If Naruto were to lean in any closer, she was sure that she would simply fall backwards. He had never been this close to her. In fact, no one ever had been aside from Teuchi and Ayame. At least, not without hostile intent… 

She couldn’t help but notice that this was the first time she was interacting with anyone outside of her family, and that this was her first time interacting with him outside of the kitchen. This observation did not make matters easier. 

“Umm.. I…” 

She twiddled her fingers together, and looked down, fighting the urge to flee and hoping that not making eye contact would make it easier. 

It did not.

“It’s j-just…” Swallowed, she tried again, only to get nowhere. And again. And again. 

Frustration flooded her veins. She dropped her hands and clenched her fists as tears threatened to form at the edges of her eyes, the product of her sheer bitterness at her inability to speak up when it mattered. It was a simple idea, an offer which she had been rehearsing for the past week, and yet, as per usual, she froze up. When it came down to it, she was incapable of carrying through. 

Naruto was a boy of action. He was rambunctious and impatient and always on the move. She had always admired his energy, and had tried to emulate. It sort of worked with her cooking, as her abilities improved slightly, but ultimately, no matter how much she tried, she just couldn’t keep up. Naruto, the first stranger who had managed to coax her into talking and enjoying herself, was simply destined to zoom ahead of her while she was left in the dust, still trying to gather the courage to take a single step. 

“You don’t have to hurry up or anything, ya know.” 

Her head immediately snapped upwards. Her jaw threatened to drop. Her eyes widened in surprise — though he couldn’t see them. 

“Wh-what?” 

“Don’t force yourself too much!” Naruto, sweet, oblivious, impatient Naruto, grinned at her, obviously noticing her surprise. “I’ve always noticed that when you try and hurry up too much, you just get more stuck, ya know.” 

His grinned was like the smile of the sun, and suddenly, the snow melted away, the mild coldness of the Konoha winter heated up, and a smile of her own formed upon her lips.

“I’ll wait, ya know! I’ll always wait!” 

A stunned silence followed his proclamation as Nata stood there, processing what he had just said. His words reverberated in her head as though they were the only sounds in the universe, and as they grew louder in her mind, her cheeks strained, both from the embarrassed smile and the sheer amount of blood that pumped through it to present her blush to the world. 

_He’ll always wait._

In her sea of infinite frustration and darkness, his smile shined down on her, and a flower seemed to grow in its strengthening light, growing taller and taller before blooming in a vibrant rainbow of colour. 

“W-would you like t-to join us f-for the Rinne Festival?” she said eventually, slowly and coherently, though very quietly. 

His grin vanished. 

“Wh-what?” 

_Please don’t make me repeat it._

“I-I mean, would you like to join my family for the R-Rinne Festival,” she said again, louder. 

“B-but, it's a holiday!” Naruto sputtered, looking absolutely bewildered. “Your dad said it was for family!” 

Feeling her momentary boost of confidence quickly vanishing, Nata nodded. 

“Y-you are b-basically…” _like family._

She trailed off, but he somehow seemed to understand. 

“B-but… I don’t want to intrude o-or anything.” 

Nata quickly shook her head rather violently. 

“P-please, we want you to be there. All of us.” 

They stood like that for a very long time, Naruto looking at her incredulously, and Naruto tapping her fingers together nervously, squirming in place. It was as though he was judging her sincerity, and the pressure she felt from him was overwhelming. 

“P-please.” 

And slowly, finally, his suspicious look vanished. And on his face appeared the single most beautiful smile she had ever seen. 

“Will there be ramen?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope y'all enjoyed this little fragment. Again, Merry Christmas!


	22. History Lesson

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been an incredibly hard chapter to write, simply because, well... see, I had the entire story planned out and figured out. The thing is, that plan sort of fell apart a bit the past few chapters. I've sort of, uh, lost control a bit, so I had to sort a few things out with this chapter to set it back on course. Hopefully it's fine. I think it turned out fairly well, actually, but who knows. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

“My, my, don’t we all look happy?” 

At the sudden intrusion, Naruto shot a furious look at the door, scowled, then looked away again. At the door, with one eyebrow raised, Kakashi stood gawking at them with Shikamaru at his side, looking mildly perplexed at the scene which greeted him when he entered the room. Naruto, sitting up in bed, half covered in rolls of bandages, arms crossed, resumed his former position of glaring at Sakura with an unusual amount of anger, his left hand tightly clutching Nata’s, who was sitting next to him and was also facing Sakura. Her expression wasn’t easily discernible from the few slightly softer glances he shot her in the previous half hour of near complete awkward silence, but from the slight trembling of her lips, it could be discerned that she was nervous — possibly even fearful. Sasuke was also in the room, casually leaning against the wall next to the window with his arms crossed. He too was looking at Sakura, though with mild curiosity more than anything. Sai was sitting cross legged near the door, also looking at Sakura, though he intermittently tore his gaze away to look at the portrait he was drawing of the scene.. 

Seeming to take a moment to take it all in, Kakashi turned to focus on Sakura, who was leaning against the wall opposite Naruto’s with a similar stance to Sasuke’s, though visibly more agitated. Her shoulders were tense, and she clutched her arms very tightly. She was clearly fighting to keep a neutral expression, but her face kept twitching, and she kept her line of vision directed on Nata. In all, she looked a bit like a trapped mouse. 

Kakashi raised an eyebrow still further. 

“R-Rokudaime.. s-sama,” Nata stuttered, standing up to incline her head, before looking nervously at Naruto and quickly sitting back down. 

“Hokage-sama,” Sai said pleasantly, not even glancing at Kakashi as she kept shifting his gaze from Sakura to his paper. 

“Kakashi-sensei” Naruto and Sakura muttered in unison, Sakura’s voice restrained while Naruto only just held back from snarling. 

Sasuke nodded at him. 

“Hope I’m not interrupting anything!” Kakashi sounded like he was doing his best to sound as cheerful as possible. “But I came as soon as I got Sasuke’s message that Naruto’s awake.” 

No one reacted to his words, except for Nata, who turned her head briefly to look at Sasuke before returning to look at Sakura. She tried placing her other hand on the one in Naruto’s grasp, but pulled it away quickly when Naruto stiffened slightly, which Naruto regretted almost instantly, though his continued anger at the situation kept him from feeling too ashamed. 

Kakashi’s eyebrows shot up straight into his hitai-ate. For someone who would very likely sacrifice all of his limbs just to have Nata hug him, it was quite an unusual display.

Naruto didn’t want to talk about it. He threw another angry look at Sakura’s direction, then scowled up at Kakashi. 

“What do you want?” he demanded, ignoring Sai’s dry comment on respectfulness as he tried to ignore the screaming beast of frustration that roared in his chest by focusing his attention directly onto his old teacher. Sai wasn’t a target of his rage, he merely showed up a few moments ago with Sasuke while Sakura was busy telling him off, but Naruto wasn’t feeling very fond of his teammate at the moment. He could not bear more interruptions. 

Kakashi heaved a tired sigh, looked briefly at Shikamaru, who shrugged, then stepped out of the doorway and assumed his “Hokage” voice. 

“I’m sorry to have to question you so soon after your recovery, Naruto, but this is urgent. The Summit starts in a few hours, and the two of us need to be preparing soon. We cannot cancel at this stage, but the presence of Ootsutsuki around the area is troubling. From what I’ve already been told,” he inclined his head towards Sasuke, “they were incredibly powerful.” 

“Did you have to fight them?” Naruto asked sharply, sitting up a little straighter on the hospital bed. Rage at his humiliating defeat flared into life, and, for the first time in his life, the soothing presence of Nata at his side seemed unable to douse the angry fire that always made him seek a fight. 

Possibly because of how much of that fire was burning on fuel provided by her. 

Sasuke shook his head in response to his question. 

“They were pretty beaten up and were already retreating when I showed up. But judging from what they did to you and the surrounding area, they’re good. Plus, I did try a couple attacks on their backs as they ran to their little black sphere, but it was fairly ineffective, though I didn’t exactly push myself.”

“You should have taken them out while they were weak!” Naruto almost shouted, ready to leap out of his bed had it not been for the searing pain in his chest that erupted at his sharp movement, as well as Nata’s restraining hand on his shoulder.. “If they were running, then—” 

“You were literally dying, Naruto,” Sasuke said, sounding impatient. “You were in really bad shape, I had to get you back as fast as I could. But don’t worry, next time, I’ll just leave you to die on your own while I waste time fighting against an enemy strong enough to beat you.” 

“He still managed to gain important information, it seems.” 

Everyone turned to the door, from which the new voice had spoken. Kakashi stepped out of the way, revealing the newcomer, and Nata gasped. 

“Hizashi-sama, good to see you here,” Kakashi greeted him.

Sai turned to look at the head of the Hyuuga clan with an expression of curiosity, his raised eyebrow betraying his surprise. Naruto glared a thim at first, then scowled, after which his face took on a blank look before his jaw dropped and his eyes widened, as though he remembered something. Sakura stared at Hizashi’s face with a sort of horrified fascination, until she and Naruto noticed that Nata seemed to have started to hyperventilate, at which point they both turned to look at her, Naruto’s expression melting into a look of deep concern, Sakura’s, a look of fear. 

Sasuke looked bored. Shikamaru, serious. 

“Good morning, Hizashi-sama,” Sai called out politely. “What are you doing here?” 

“The Ootsutsuki were yelling about how they’ll get the ‘Princess of the Hyuuga’ as they escaped,” Sasuke said, shrugging slightly. “We had to tell the clan head, didn’t we?” 

Hizashi nodded, then walked over to Naruto, bowing slightly. 

“It is good to see that you have recovered, Naruto,” he said, his voice neutral and dignified. Naruto gaped at him with his mouth open, and Nata was practically cowering in her seat. “After Uchiha-san’s information, I naturally wanted to see if you learned anything more about the Ootsutsuki’s plan, as it appears to closely involve my clan.” 

“I’m just glad that you woke up before the Summit,” Kakashi added, walking to the bed alongside Hizashi. “The Daimyo would have had my head otherwise.” 

“As if the Daimyo could or would do anything to you,” snorted Sakura.

“He could try to pass a law banning the Icha-Icha series from being read in public,” Shikamaru said quietly. 

“Don’t even talk about that,” Kakashi warned, shuddered as he did so. “Even the thought of that is just… Anyways, Naruto, we want to know what exactly happened. What you learned. What they wanted. How they fought. Everything.” 

Taking a deep breath, Naruto thought back to his battle with the aliens, which had been pushed out of his mind since waking up considering that he was busy dealing with Nata’s secrecy, and the whole trouble with her feelings. In his moment of recollection, he couldn’t help but internally curse; Sakura had to get in the way when he was in the middle of things. 

“Not much to tell you,” growled Naruto, finally, done mentally examining what he remembered. . “They showed up randomly, they have some weird technology that I didn’t really understand, they poisoned me, and I got knocked out fighting them.” 

Kakashi shared an exasperated look with Shikamaru. 

“Oh yeah, there’s something else, ya know.” Naruto looked up at Hizashi. “They want some ‘Byakugan Princess’ person.” 

Hizashi’s stoic demeanour was broken momentarily as his eyebrows creased together in confusion. 

“There is no such thing,” he declared. 

Naruto shrugged in response. 

“That’s what the leader, what’s his face, Tomeru, said. Oh, and he called himself ‘the Prince of the Moon,” or something, sounded a bit like you when we were genin, Sasuke, real full of himself.” 

Sasuke scowled. 

“Anyways, he said he’s looking for the ‘Byakugan Princess,’ and that, uh, he’s, well, he wants the ‘daughter of the main branch,’ or something.” 

At this, Kakshi turned to look at Hizashi with a bemused look on his face, but the head of the Hyuuga clan merely looked at Naruto with a frown on his face, his entire focus completely on Naruto’s grim expression. 

“I don’t have a daughter,” Hizashi said quietly. “I have a niece, Hanabi, but she belongs to the side branch, and there is no indication that she is any… Byakugan Princess, even with her excellent abilities.” 

“Maybe they just got confused about Neji?” Sakura offered. 

“No,” Naruto said, screwing his face, trying his best to remember what that Prince was taking about.. “The prince dude said her name. It was something like, errr, I think it was…” 

He snapped his fingers and his eyes lit up in triumph. 

“Hinata. Hyuuga Hinata.” 

The silence that followed his proclamation was absolute. It stretched on for several long, uncomfortable moments as though a mysterious force had robbed them all of speech. Naruto looked around, trying to gauge everyone’s reactions, a bit unnerved by the quiet, and saw Sai, Shikamaru and Sasuke looking confusedly at him. Kakashi looked awkward, his eyes wider than normal, and he shifted his legs a bit, looking straight at Hizashi, who wore a frozen expression. 

Eventually, Hizashi relaxed his features, returning to his stoic demenour. 

“There won’t be much of a problem, then,” he said, sounding oddly satisfied. “It is simply a matter of protecting the clan as a whole.” 

“Why isn’t it a problem? Who is Hyuuga Hinata?” Naruto impatiently Hizashi, then, when the man didn’t react, looked at Kakashi, beginning to feel agitated. “Who is this person?” 

Kakashi surveyed him for a moment, clearly hesitant, but sighed and spoke after taking a look behind him. 

“She was a member of the Hyuuga clan,” Kakashi answered.

“Was?”

“Means she’s probably dead,” came Sasuke’s casual, unconcerned interjection. “I think I remember my father mentioning that name once. From the Hyuuga Affair, right?” 

Hizashi fixed Sasuke with a look so cold that it could have frozen a lake, but Sasuke merely met his gaze with an equally cold looking of his own. Hastily, Kakashi looked between Hizashi and Sasuke and nodded to Naruto to whisper something in Hizashi ears, which evidently worked since Hirazhi looked away, but the answer did not satisfy Naruto. On the contrary, he was so incensed by the behaviour of the three men that he began shouting again. 

“What Hyuuga Affair? What… what?” 

“We read a bit about it in the Academy, remember?” Sakura offered timidly from her wall. 

Grimacing, Naruto turned to glare at the Kakashi and Shikamaru one more time, intent on staring at them into submission. “What is it?” 

“Around sixteen, fifteen years ago, Sandaime-sama tried to sign a peace treaty with Kumogakure,” Kakashi explained after being poked in the side by Shikamaru. His voice was quiet, lacking all of the usual coolness he had. “ We were at war for so long, and it was such a relief when the Raikage agreed to Sandaime-sama’s terms. This was all a front, of course. They really just wanted the Byakugan, and betrayed our trust by somehow kidnapping the clan heir.” 

“Neji?” Naruto burst out, looking incredulous. “Neji was kidnapped by Kumo ninja? A kid from a family of people who can see through walls, can see a dozen kilometers in each direction, see chakra and cells and stuff,?”” 

“Do not mock us, Naruto,” Hizashi said warningly, his voice too, carrying the frigid feel shared by his look as he looked down at Naruto with some annoyance. “The operation was well planned and was conducted by the man second in line to be Raikage at the time. Neji at the time had been out in the open, and still a child. We simply did not make it in time.” 

“Bet you could have, though,” Naruto said, inciting a stifled cough from Shikamaru. “So what happened? “How come the Hyuuga didn’t try and restart the war and burn down Kumo?” 

“Oh, they tried,” Kakashi answered wearily. “I was in the Anbu back then. It was a truly horrific affair. The number of times we had to try and infiltrate that damn village… The thing is, the Byakugan and the Sharingan have always been Konoha’s most jealously guarded treasures. That’s part of why the Uchiha mainly stayed in the village as police, and why the Hokages never tried anything with the Caged Bird Seals.” 

“Yeah,” Naruto grumbled, turning to glare at Hizashi with an even hotter intensity than he had towards Sakura , “look where that got all of them.” 

Hizashi was silently, merely looking sternly at the other people in the room. Naruto was about to complain about the clans a bit more, but after a stern look for Shikamaru and yet another sigh from Kakashi, Naruto silenced himself. 

“So,” Kakashi continued, “obviously Kumo had leverage against us. So… we negotiated. We.. we made a trade.” 

“A trade?” This time, it was Shikamaru who spoke instead of Naruto, and just as quickly as the look of realisation dawned on his face, so too came a look of utter disgust. “You traded the clan heir for a branch member, didn’t you. Someone with the Caged Bird Seal.” 

“Kumo would be fooled into thinking that they have the Byakugan, and Konoha gets to keep the precious little main branch boy,” Sasuke spat, catching on as well. 

It took a couple moments for Naruto to fully comprehend Sasuke’s words, but when he did, he looked directly at Hizashi, his eyes and mouth wide and his expression horrified. Hizashi, on his part, betrayed no emotion save for a slight twitch of the eyebrows at Sasuke’s words, and met Naruto’s eyes calmly, almost defiantly. 

He had known of a crisis that fit this event’s description almost perfectly, had derided the Hyuuga clan in front of Nata in reference to this, but those were merely rumours. To not only have the head of the clan at fault, as well as the Hokage confirm the event… and to have the poor victim’s name… 

“You ask a shinobi to sacrifice herself for the sake of your son?” Sai asked, his voice still pleasant, though his years with Team 7 had taught him a few things, judging by the slight edge to the way he spoke. 

Hizashi turned slowly, very slowly to look down at Sai. Then, very deliberately, as though he had practiced the statement so thoroughly that it was ingrained into his heart, said simply, “No. Kumogakure wanted a child, someone to train for their own cause. All things considered, there was only one viable candidate.” 

The silence that followed was deafening. Though no one spoke, Naruto felt a kind of buzzing that he reasoned must be the sound of pure quietness. Or was the blood that rushed through his head like molten fury? 

The story was true. He had talked about it, heard fragments of it as the reason behind the tensions between the main and branch families, yes, but he never thought that the Hokage would let any clan go to those lengths. How did Konoha ever approve swapping out children in such an abomination of a hostage negotiation? How important did the Byakugan have to be to warrant all this? How did the Third ever allow this to happen?

And then, his eyes shifted to Sasuke, who was regarding Hizashi with a nearly indiscernible look, and he remembered that it was under old Sarutobi’s leadership and full knowledge that the Uchiha were discriminated against then promptly massacred by their own prodigy. 

Naruto felt steam threaten to escape from his ears. In his anger, he was almost shaking, his fists clenched so tightly that his hand bones were creaking. Grinding his teeth, he prepared to yell, to shout, to scream at the pathetic excuse of a clan leader in front of him. Such an injustice was unforgivably, such an injustice was deplorable. Who cared if this outrage was merely piggybacking on his shame at being defeated by Toneri, or the lingering, overwhelming frustration he felt over Sakura’s interruption of his conversation with Nata, and that she had kicked him back into bed after he had hobbled over to the hallways and tried to figure out what she and Nata were talking about? Who cared that this one and a half decade old death was merely an opportunity for him to vent? 

He tried to rise from his bed. 

And suddenly, a hand was placed on his shoulder, and he stopped, looking to his left in surprise. 

Nata, paler than paper, clearly shaken, was breathing hard. Her lips were trembling in an even more pronounced manner than earlier, after he had shouted himself hoarse at Sakura for interrupting their moment and tossing him back into bed after he tried getting up. She very much seemed like she was about to faint, but the hand on his shoulder was quite strong, bearing all the force and resilience of Teuchi’s daughter, and Naruto felt shame flood him instantly. 

Nata was gentle, with more empathy than anyone else. Sensitive as she was, this information was clearly bothering her, yet it was she who had to restrain Naruto’s temper, who tempered his excitable flames with her soothing but firm grip. 

Naruto gave her an apologetic smile, then wordlessly sunk back into his pillows, closing his eyes in an effort to calm down as much as he could. Nata’s hand slid down from his shoulder and back to his hand, reclaiming it, where it stayed as firm as ever. 

“How are you sure that this… Hinata… is still alive?” Shikamaru asked Hizashi carefully, exchanging glances with Sasuke as he did so. 

“Well, we didn’t see any Byakugan users from Kumo in the Alliance, for one,” Kakashi answered first, sounding weary, as though the conversation about sacrificing one child for another had taken a toll on him.

Hizashi, who was surveying Naruto and Nata with an expression of great interest, nodded, then, wrenching his eyes away from the nervous and almost shaking Hinata, continued on for Kakashi. “Kumo representatives approached us some time after the deal, and complained that we had cheated them. That means that the seal must have worked, which suggests that they tried tampering with the child’s eyes.” 

“Which means that the kid is dead,” Sai finished for him. He turned to look at Sakura, who was still leaning against her wall, now watching the conversation with a very detached, mournful look. “You’re surprisingly quiet. I would have expected a full commentary from you on this matter.” 

But Sakura merely shook her head, unwilling or unable to discuss anything. 

Kakashi heaved one last, huge sigh, then, taking a look at the clock that hung over the door, whispered something in Shikamaru’s ear. His assistant nodded, immediately leaving the room, and Kakashi turned to address the room as a whole. 

“Well, Naruto, if that’s all you have to say… Sakura, how much longer until he can walk normally?” 

“At this stage, with his healing, I’d say two hours?” the medic replied automatically, still looking preoccupied as she stared at Hizashi. 

“The Summit starts in two and a half. Naruto, I think that you’ll have to arrive fashionably late to the opening ceremony, unfortunately.” 

“Not a problem,” Naruto growled in reply. 

Kakashi smiled at him. “That’s good. I’ll leave someone to come fetch you and to talk you through the procedures and all. You’ll have to rush a bit, but I don’t think the daimyos or Kages will mind. Security will be tight, but with the Byakugan,” he gestured at Hizashi, “if the Ootsutsuki try anything, we’ll take care of them swiftly and ruthlessly. Sasuke, you’ll be staying on as additional security?” 

To Naruto and Sakura’s shock, Sasuke nodded. 

“Good. Now, Naruto, I’m going to have to dash now or Shizune will skin me alive. I can’t be late for things anymore, you know, and the Summit is very important. If you remember anything else that’s valuable about your fight, please contact me or any of my assistants or Anbu at once. Got it?” 

“I… guess so.” 

“Good. Oh, and you’ve got a date, right?” 

Naruto numbly heard Nata exhale, and saw Sakura look at him in disbelief out of the corner of his eye. His felt Nata’s grip on his hand loosen a bit, and part of his earlier anger trickled back into its pedestal for a moment. 

“Yeah. Naomi, representative of the Land of Waves,” he mumbled, and Kakashi nodded. 

“Excellent choice. You’ll have to meet her at the Summit, of course, which is unfortunate, but…” Kakashi shook his head slightly, then, with a quick look at Nata that Naruto could have sworn carried an expression of guilt, turned to Hizashi. 

“Shall we?” 

“Of course, Rokudaime-sama.” 

The pair of them vanished in a puff of smoke and leaves, leaving only Team 7 and Nata in the room, as they originally were. 

“I should probably get going,” Sai said, getting up and stretching before quickly packing away his painting equipment. “I’m part of the aerial patrol.” 

He walked out of the room, throwing the scroll he had been working on to Sakura as he did so. She unfurled it, scanned it, then scowled, throwing it to the ground. Form the little that Naruto could see from his position, it was a beautifully painted portrait of her scowling and glaring. 

Sasuke, clearly also ready to depart, did not bother with an excuse, but merely looked at Naruto and said, “loser,” turned to Sakura and nodded, then walked out of the hospital room as well. 

Now was his opportunity. 

“Nata,” he began, but almost simultaneously, Nata released his hand and stood up. She still looked pale and shaky, but it was with a determined step voice that she spoke to him, though she avoided looking at him. 

“I… I should go back to Ichiraku. Tou-chan will be needing me.” 

Naruto wanted to protest, to call out, to yell that he didn’t want her ever to leave his side until they sorted out what happened earlier, but his voice seemed to get stuck in his throat, unable to escape, unable to force her to endure what was bound to be another taxing conversation when she looked so clearly drained and upset. 

So, he nodded, and she quickly walked away, turning to look at him only once as she reached the door, gifting him one, last, sad smile. 

“H-have… have a good time with Naomi-sama. San.” 

And then, she was gone. 

Naruto took a moment to shut his eyes, thinking the night through. How had it gone south so quickly? 

Once he opened them again, he looked blearily at Sakura, who was now surveying him with a look that seemed like a mixture of pity and apprehension. He looked her over. She definitely seemed to be very shaken by whatever transpired in the hallway. She seemed more guarded, more tense. 

“I don’t want to violate Nata’s privacy,” he said slowly, and Sakura raised an eyebrow at him. “I really don’t. But we were in the middle of something, and you interrupted.” 

“You’re a patient who woke up after three days of being unconscious, and I’m the medic,” she spat. “Of course I would interrupt.” 

“You should have let me finish with Nata,” he said hotly, anger clouding any logic that remained in his mind. “It was really important!” 

“Well, what we were talking about was important too!” 

“I just wanted to—” 

“You barged in on us, barely able to move! You could have made your injuries even worse!” 

“I needed to know!” 

“It was none of your business!”

“Nata was saying something very important to me! And, judging from how you’re acting, she said something important to you too! And not just important, but something serious! Now, I really don’t want to disrespect Nata, but if it’s something about her safety, or— hey, hey, where are you going?”

For Sakura had pushed off against the wall and was angrily striding out of the room, shaking with fury but not venting as she usually would. He was right, something Nata had said seemed to have shaken her to the core, but she betrayed none of it as she, like Nata, turned around to give him one, last, scathing comment. 

“If you just finally pull your melodramatic head out of your overly emotional ass, and start thinking instead of moping over her rejecting you three weeks ago, you would know.” 

And, before he could reply, she stormed out, leaving Naruto alone, frustrated and confused, on his hospital bed. 

**Days left: none**  
**Status: Turmoil.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick question: short chapters and frequent updates, or long chapters that have more time in between?


	23. The Summit Begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the event that we've all been waiting for has arrived!
> 
> Just wanted to say something. I realised that there were a few inconsistencies in this story, mainly that I had claimed that Sai and Killer Bee were dead in this timeline, only to then go on to forget about that. Those have been fixed; Sai is officially alive and Bee is unfortunately gone. Also, very minor detail, but I changed Naomi and Shigeru's last name to 'Shimizu.' Very small detail, but still, wanted to point out. 
> 
> With that said, I hope that ya'll will enjoy this chapter!

The morning wind was but a gentle breeze that quietly rustled the multicoloured autumn leaves, loosening a few. In disregard to the throughout cleaning that had taken place in the area, these leaves, the colour of gold and rust, fluttered off of the branches of the carefully arranged and meticulously trimmed trees, floating in the cool wind. They tumbled gracefully in the air, dancing to the beat of the distant music, separated from their companions, all of which were similarly in shades of yellow and orange. Under the soft light that fell from the rising sun, the rays of which painted the sky in the deepest orange, the rows of uniform, identical trees looked almost like candles surrounding an altar or a small shrine, the drifting leaves, their sparks.

But a small shrine it was not. The trees formed a formidable moat of flame around an enormous building, something that could only be described as a palace. Rising above a polished white base, the building seemed to be a mixture of traditional and modern styles, a marvel of architecture. The thin, white pillars supported a magnificent curved roof so expansive, to those on the bottom, it was as though a section of the sky was missing, replaced by the symbol of the daimyo’s power and wealth. Had one been surveying it from the sky, as a certain Konoha shinobi riding atop a bird made of ink was, the roof would have seemed rather low; this was a product of the sheer width of the building, which allowed it to occupy nearly the entire space afforded by the valley on which it stood. Silently, the ninja hiding in the two, small mountains on either side of the valley patrolled, skirting around trees, watching the glint of the rising sun off of the water in the fountains in front of the building. 

As the hosting nation of the Summit, the Land of Fire spared no expenses on the lavish construction of the Palace of Peace. Promised to be kept on as a symbol of the country’s efforts towards global peace, the Palace was to be used for all future diplomatic meetings and negotiations, or at least, that’s how the Daimyo had explained it to the press. And the buzz that had begun spreading through the country at the great lengths their leader had taken towards impressing his guests was nothing to the amazement shining in the eyes of the stupendously large crowd that was now making its way to the Palace, moving and muting with a background of a traditional band, the volume of their music amplified by chakra. Samurai lined the two sides of the main, white road leading to the main entrance, while their shinobi colleagues creeped out from over the curve of the roof, peering out at the high nobles and dignitaries, diplomats and foreign representatives made their way into the gargantuan main hall, protected by their own bodyguards. 

There was one person, however, who was not relishing in the wonderment of the foreign visitors as they made their way through the crowd and into the Palace. One person who scowled at the excited chattering of the representatives walking in front of him, or else the quiet laments of the men discussing how their own country could never afford such a special structure. Even the least excited ministers and diplomats seemed to spark his irritation, their quiet musings over what the Summit would be like and what to expect driving him up the wall. 

He looked upwards, noticing, unlike everyone else, the liberated leaves, drifting in the wind towards the ground. At this, he could barely suppress a smirk. After all of the Daimyo’s careful pruning and organising and cleaning, his clear, pure white streets designed only for the feet of the rich and powerful would serve as the landing ground for the stray leaves, where they would ruin the pure white with their invasive colours.

 _Symbolic, isn’t it, Daimyo-sama?_

No one questioned his rich kimono or the sword at his side, trusting that he was simply another important foreigner blessed to have been invited to such a magnificent event. No one questioned the lack of bodyguards or how alone he seemed, for he carried himself with such an air of superiority and power, that it would be deemed impossible for him to be anything other than a member of the elite, someone in a high position, or else with money, someone one of the Great Five Daimyo had considered useful in inviting. 

Sasuke internally laughed at this notion as he blended in with the crowd, keeping an eye out for any suspicious activity as he weaved through people as inconspicuously as possible. Yet as much as he seemed to move, he made very little progress up the road, his movements simply done in a manner that distracted the observant from noticing that there was more side-to-side motion than forwards. He was waiting, holding back to catch a glimpse of the idiot he was meant to protect, his friend who had been so thoroughly injured a few days ago and who would be able to help with very little if his assailants would return during any of the three days of the Summit. He knew that Naruto would be late, of course. Injuries notwithstanding, Naruto had a penchant for showing up just a little bit too late, though not nearly on the same level as their old teacher. 

He tried to keep an ear open for Naruto’s voice, or even for a mention of his name in case Sakura was chasing after a Naruto who had escaped the hospital as he so often did, but it turned out to be more of a bother than anything else. Naruto’s name was _everywhere._

“Did you hear? They say that Uzumaki Naruto will be here!” 

“ _The_ Uzumaki Naruto?” 

“Are you sure it won’t be like with the last Summit? He was rumoured to come then --. 

“Quite exciting, the great hero Uzumaki—” 

“I hear the daimyo of The Land of Earth is trying to get Uzumaki Naruto engaged to his niece!” 

“— and I promised my children that I would bring back a photo with Uzumaki Naruto. They see him as their inspiration, bless them— ” 

“My son’s quite crazy about Naruto-san, quite crazy. My husband, too. Part of me suspects—” 

“Did you hear what the head of the Hadou clan tried to do last month? Contacted the Hokage, tried to get Uzumaki Naruto to marry his daughter while passing it off as a mission. Political marriage, how despicable. What? No, _I_ didn’t do that, I just wanted to _introduce_ him to my daughter and see if mutual attraction —”

“Met him once before! I remember, I was at Naruto-sama’s Chunin Exam! Strode in, brimming with confidence. Even back then, he radiated an aura of power and heroism! Always knew he had it in him.” 

Sasuke barely contained a scoff at that last eager boast. Sure, Naruto had put up an impressive show against Neji, had shaken the Hyuuga to the core with how the underdog had thrown at him, but it was ultimately a knockout as Naruto was rendered helpless by the shutdown of his chakra network. Sakura had told him all about the frustrated yells and the shock Neji had tried to hide under his insults. There would have been no “aura of power and heroism” there. 

_Though Naruto did look quite pleased with himself when Nata started fretting over him in the aftermath of it all. He looked so worried when the invasion began,_ Sasuke remembered with a smirk, thinking of the palpable tension between the two earlier that morning. _Naruto, busy with his own foolish heart troubles without everyone trying to form marital alliances. It would be almost amusing to watch him find out what Kakashi—_

Sighing, Sasuke paused his thoughts as they began to meander and a trickle of pity formed towards his old teammate. He remembered his own popularity with girls, the rumours he heard about parents trying to get their children to get closer to him, to befriend him or even more, so that their families would have claim over the last of the prestigious Uchiha clan. Even then, as a child, he had realised the game that people tried to play, and it was with scorn that he viewed anyone foolish enough to attempt that trick with him, their dishonest attempts at getting close to him still bringing doubt to his heart.   
He only hoped that Naruto realised. That he understood. Naruto’s best trait may be his trust, and Sasuke may have conceded that his hatred was misplaced, but fame was a sea where only suspicion and self-preservation could allow one to swim and survive. 

This would be Naruto’s test. His first real test. And Sasuke couldn’t wait to see how Naruto performed. 

______________________________________________________________________________

“Naomi! Oi!” 

Panting, Naruto hobbled across the grass from the woods instead of the regular white street that took everyone to the site of the Summit, and approached the figure waiting serenely at the edge of the now mostly deserted path. The representative of Waves was flanked by two ministers, and was dressed in ceremonial garb that looked simple, but still very pretty, embroidered with light blue waves alongside the sleeves, the bottom of her kimono, and where the obi was. She cocked her head in acknowledgement, but there was concern in her eyes despite the warm, welcoming smile she offered him. 

“Naruto-san, it’s good to see you again. It has been a while,” she said, bowing slightly as Naruto, doing his best to hide his limp, came to an unceremonious halt in front of her, breathing heavily and clutching at his sides. 

“What? Oh, yeah, I’ve been busy,” he huffed, checking over his clothes (he had been told to come in the standard jounin uniform, complete with flak jacket, despite not actually belonging to that rank) for signs of dirt or dust. “Missions, ya know? Ain’t no rest for the wicked.” 

“I see. But you seem tired. Hurt, even.” 

“What, this?” He tried laughing between his pants, but they came off more as wheezes and grunts than anything else, and when he tried to straighten up to show her that all was good, he winced, grabbing at his ribs once more. “Ah, just, training. Gotta stay in form.” 

She surveyed the way he attempted to straighten up again, raising an eyebrow at his grin even though it was clear he was gritting his teeth and clenching his fists. “Indeed.”

“Naomi-sama,” one of her ministers whispered, leaning in closer while peering over at the path, which had nearly emptied as the start of the opening ceremony was about to begin, “the Summit will begin soon.”

Giving him a brief smile and an appreciative nod, she turned back to Naruto, she gestured to the doors of the great building, through which the last stragglers were slowly going through. “Shall we, Naruto-san?” 

“Lessgo,” Naruto said immediately, stepping forward towards the Palace, past Naomi, wincing as he did so. A cough from one of the ministers, however, made him stop in his tracks. “Eh?” 

The minister he turned to covertly indicated Naomi, who was still standing in one place and politely looking at Naruto, her head cocked in her signature curious manner, something Naruto had noticed a lot throughout the few dinners they shared before his battle with the Ootsutsuki. He stared at the minister, and mouthed, “What?” 

But the minister merely shrugged a shoulder towards Naomi once more, moving a corner of his mouth in a discreet manner that Naruto couldn’t exactly understand. 

“Huh?” This time Naruto spoke out loud. 

“T…” the minister mouthed, again through a single open corner of his mouth, though his gesture towards Naomi was more obvious. 

“Sorry, what?” Naruto asked again.

“Walk with her,” the minister mumbled, so quietly that Naruto had to lean in to even hear that the minister spoke. He shrugged at Naomi even more. 

“Eh? Speak up, you!” 

“Walk with her!” the minister nearly shouted, practically nudging Naomi and looking at Naruto with frustration threatening to tear out of his eyes. 

“Oh! Right, this is a date!” Naruto smacked his head with a palm at this realisation (the simple action irritated his chest, which felt more reminiscent of a container of loose pebbles at the moment), and stepped back towards Naomi and offered her an arm — twirling his arm with addition flair as he did so, an action which incited a wince).

“That will be unnecessary,” Naomi said, a small hint of amusement in her voice. “But it would be rather pleasant to walk alongside you.” 

_Walk alongside, eh… Hmm, Nata would have just played along,_ Naruto though with a huff before straightening up (as much as he could) and turning around to walk forward again. The few times they had walked together, he had been frustrated by how much slower the graceful Naomi seemed to walk, in comparison with his other companions. In the past, he and Nata would even race each when going to perfectly ordinary places, albeit while he held back enormously. This time, however, it worked out for the best due to his limp and still recovering ribs. He had not been formally discharged by Sakura; an Anbu had arrived outside of his window and relayed a message from Kakashi informing him of when the ceremony would start, and he decided to sneak out to his apartment before heading out to the Palace of Peace. He did this partially to make a good impression (as he had been taught by the village elders). Partially, it was to distract himself from the fact that he still knew as much about what Sakura and Nata were talking about. 

_No,_ he thought to himself. _No, it’s probably not my business. But still, if Nata was… but it was a private conversation between girls. Maybe… she was hiding a really big pimple? But…_

“Naruto-san?” 

“Eh?” He looked to his side, and the sight of Naomi looking at him with an eyebrow raised caught him by surprise. With a twist of embarrassment, he suddenly realised that he had forgotten that she was even there. He had even failed to realise that she must have been trying to catch his attention for some time now. “Sorry, were you saying something?” 

“Only that I met a few of your comrades a couple of days ago. While you were busy.” 

“Ah, my friends, huh.” _Oh no._ Beads of sweat formed on his forehead as it dawned on him that right before leaving to battle the Ootsutsukis, he had been busy whining to his friends about Nata. Had they told her something? Is that she was bringing this up out of nowhere? Not that it was particularly damaging information — they were only going together as a symbol of their countries’ cooperation, after all — but he was still heavily embarrassed by his behaviour. 

“Yes, they had such interesting tales to tell about you,” she said with a smile that made his insides squirm from the anticipation of embarrassment. 

“Oh, I… that’s great.” Kakashi _had_ told him to try and do something that was more akin to an actual ‘date.’ According to Kakashi’s ‘mission brief,’ the Daimyo wanted to use him as a source for gossip, to bring the attention of everyone of any status to the Summit. As Shikamaru summarised, Naruto was to bring a ‘girlfriend’ to make people pay more attention to the event. 

_Publicity,_ Naruto thought with derision. He had enough of that on missions and the few practice negotiations and diplomatic visits that he had been sent on by Kakashi. _At least Naomi agreed that the attention might bring the Land of Waves some foreign interest._

“So, what did they say about me?” Naruto asked, trying to sound as casual as possible. 

“Oh, merely that you absolutely adore a certain meal,” she said, seemingly like she wanted to suppress a giggle. 

“Oh. Oh, wait what?” He stopped in place, and, in a moment of indignation, managed to ignore the stabbing pains in his chest. “You mean that instead of telling you some of my greatest feats as a hero, they told you about ramen?” 

He was, frankly, disappointed in his friends. Of all the things to tell people about him, _ramen._

“There’s more to me than just ramen, ya know!” he burst out, unaware that he was saying this out loud. 

“To be fair, most of your most incredible moments are already public knowledge. I doubt that many who do not live in Konoha would be unaware of your… appetite, as your friends described it.” She definitely sounded like she was on the verge of laughing. 

Just how much had his friends over exaggerated his healthy appreciation of Nata’s cooking? 

_Wait._

The blood drained out of him. 

“Wh-what did they say about my ramen eating habits, err, specifically?” 

Still smiling, Naomi kept silent as they made their way towards the end of the white road, where, metres away from the main entrance, stragglers and security began to notice them. Naruto did his best to concentrate on Naomi and ignore the excited scream that issued from the top of the stairs to the building Kakashi had told him about. 

“Oh, the quantities,” Naomi finally said as they climbed the set of steps, smiling and nodding at those who were still on the stairs, staring at them as though transfixed — him in particular. “And… a certain location.” 

“Did… they… now?” 

“Yes, and you should have seen my younger brother. He insisted that we dine there.” 

_Well shit._

“Teuchi’s an excellent cook,” he said, trying to sound as proud as he could without betraying how uncomfortable he really felt. He knew that Nata understood the circumstances of their ‘date,’ but the idea of those two worlds collided, the one where Nata was the centre of everything and the other one where his only purpose was to do as he was ordered, made him uneasy. 

“Yes, the cooking was quite excellent,” she agreed with a twinkle in his eye. “But I was particularly interested to see—” 

“Uzumaki Naruto-san!” 

They had reached the top of the stairs and passed through the main doors into the vast entrance hall. At the sound of the yell, Naruto’s head shot up, and Naomi’s turned gracefully. It was one of the Daimyo’s top generals who Naruto had met the last time Kakashi had forced him to visit the capital city. The yell immediately caused the background of chatter to die immediately as all heads turned towards the new arrivals. 

Naruto froze in place. Every eye was fixed on him. A shudder went through the crowd as a single whisper, a single name passed from mouth to mouth, only to be followed by complete silence. 

“Naruto-san, good to see you again!” came the booming voice of the general, who strode across the expensive floor, past the starting nobles and diplomats and straight to Naruto, completely ignoring Naomi and her ministers. The man was incredibly tall, taller than anyone Naruto knew, and incredibly muscular. His face looked as though it may have once been handsome, but the three claw marks that ran from left ear to right eye, alongside smaller scars, gave the impression that handsome was an idea he had long since abandoned. He gave a slight, respectful bow and straightened up to grin at the ninja. “I am glad to see that you have decided to join us this time. Daimyo-sama will be incredibly pleased!”

“Ah, yes, me too!” he replied, chuckling nervously as one hand rubbed the back of his neck while the other fidgeted with his unfamiliar jounin vest zipper. The memory of the old lady, Koharu, scolding him while teaching about etiquette sprung into mind and he stopped. “Yeah, so glad to see you, err… Ta… Takahashi-taichou, was it?” 

Despite how heavily scarred he was, the man beamed at him like a child who had been handed the last piece of a delicious cake, and he gave a short, excited laugh. After a moment though, he seemed to notice Naomi — particularly her proximity to Naruto — and his smile fell. 

“Ah, this is Shi… this is Naomi-sama, of the Land of Waves. Here in place of her father, ya know!” Naruto hastily introduces Naomi, who bowed. “She’s, err… my date.” 

As a top general, Naruto was expecting that Takahashi would be aware of the Daimyo’s orders and would give him his approval, but the general seemed to look disappointed as he took Naomi in, a scowl playing on his face. 

“Is something wrong, Taichou?” Naruto asked, a little annoyed now. 

“What, oh, nothing! Nothing! Right then, let’s get going, gotta present you to the Daimyo, of course!” The general’s good-natured grin was back in full swing. He took a step closer to Naruto, clutched his shoulder, and turned to gesture at the humongous hall, waving a hand across the crowd of attendees who seemed to rev back into life and started to move to swarm the Hero of the Leaf. “Welcome, Uzumaki Naruto,” the general shouted over the now increasingly intense sound emanating from the crowds, “to the Five Powers Summit!” 

The wind gave a momentary burst of strength, and as the last diplomats, representatives and nobles were let into the Palace of Peace, as the doors were closed to hide away Naruto’s desperate attempts to turn away the tsunami of excited guests, a single brown, torn leaf was blown off of a tree, and, drifting across the wind, landed on the white in front of the closed doors.

The Summit has begun. 

**Days of Summit: one**   
**Status: Bombarded by paparazzi.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope that this chapter worked to introduce the Summit and the location. We'll be getting into the real juicy stuff soon, which I do think will be pretty soon, as in sooner than this chapter's publication was in relation to the previous one. Soon. 
> 
> Thank you for reading, if you did. If you're not and you're just skimming and skipping to find all of the NH moments, then... sorry? We're getting there.


End file.
